For All Your Days
by Nathaniel Lent
Summary: It's been 2 years since RWBY left their legacy behind at Beacon. 2 Years since Weiss assumed her position as the CEO of the SDC. 2 years since Blake and Yang started their careers as huntresses... and 2 years since their Little Red had gone missing. Now they finally have a lead; nothing could possibly go wrong right?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Weiss Schnee was annoyed.

The heiress, now CEO, had somewhat mellowed out since her days at Beacon Academy, something that had come with growing up. Seldom did she lose her temper over the small things that she had in the past, and gone were the tantrums that had pervaded her everyday life. That said, there were only a few people on Remnant who could dare to cross the woman in this state, and even fewer who would willingly do so.

Standing up, the white-haired woman paced her office, letting out small huffs all the while. Her office was comfortable, if conservative. White carpet, white walls, wooden shelves, and a line of windows that ran the length of the office formed the foundation. A television laid across from the desk which housed several holographic screens. Speaking of which, the cause of her frustrations could be traced to the pile of documents currently on her desk; all of which depicted blurry photos of a figure cloaked in black and red.

Ruby. Fucking. Rose.

The leader of her four years at Beacon had wedged herself into the icy woman's heart with her insufferable cheerfulness and impossibly endearing honesty. Four years of sleeping in the same room and fighting life and death battles had left a trust in the red and white partners that few could ever replicate. It was also for this reason that Weiss was currently so irate.

Ruby was, in short, missing. Missing for the past 2 years now. As soon as their team of 4 had graduated from Beacon, the youngest and ironically, most skilled, member of their team had left on a long-term mission with her uncle. Now, this had all been well and good, with the two keeping in constant contact, if sometimes looking slightly worse for wear. The problem came when Qrow had returned after 2 months, and his niece was still nowhere to be found.

The only reason that the WBY portion of team RWBY hadn't immediately upended the world in an attempt to find their leader was the word of the only person who had seen Ruby before her sudden disappearance, her uncle Qrow. And as much as they were worried that their all too trusting leader was in over her pretty little head, Qrow had, for quite awhile now, been assuring them otherwise.

Of course, there was no way that the team had given up that easily. Yang and Blake had been on a lookout for their leader wherever they took a mission. To Vale, Atlas, Mistral, and Vacuo, they had gone around the globe; and though you would think a girl with a giant scythe, black-red hair, and a red cloak would be rather memorable, there was no trace of the younger crimsonette. Their consolation at least, was that they were at least out there looking, searching for any sign of Ruby.

Weiss on the other hand, was denied even that, stuck in her own office and saddled with the running of the Schnee Dust Company. While the CEO position was something that she had been expected to do, it had been on no uncertain terms that it would be the product of her father's wishes. Though it had involved several compromises, namely Weiss' agreement to deal with the suitors that her father wished her to meet, the then young heiress had managed to have her father pass control of the company to her. Of course, no small amount of support from Winter had played a large part in their father's decision. No matter how powerful the SDC was economically, even the gargantuan dust monopoly had to pay some heed to the Atlesian military. Thusly, Weiss now held authority over the largest economic power on Remnant.

This, in turn, led to the young woman's current situation. Had it not been for her position, Weiss would have long since been out the proverbial door searching for her missing partner. Running a hand through her hair as she slumped into the admittedly comfortable chair that adorned her office, Weiss once again ran through the reports that sat on her desk. Most of them were false leads or cold trails, information that had already been looked through and deemed useless, weeks or even months old images that came in by mail. It was an arduous process, one that Weiss nevertheless continued.

Scouring the papers for any possible source of reliable information concerning Ruby, Weiss almost didn't notice the quiet knock that signaled someone's presence on the other side of the door.

At this time? It could only be one person.

"The door isn't locked, come in." she called out. The door slowly opened to reveal another young woman, slightly older than Weiss, that seemed to be a mirror image in all but the strict military discipline that had been instilled in her.

Giving a faint smile, Weiss greeted the visitor with nary a second thought. "Specialist Winter Schnee, to what do I owe this pleasure?" Though there was no need to be so formal with her sister, Weiss always found it comforting to find something so small to indulge the older woman with the formality that the latter was always so fond of.

"Well Miss Schnee, I didn't realize that I needed an excuse to visit my own sister." Responding in kind with her own slight smirk, Winter caught on quickly.

"Oh of course, I'm only too happy to see you here." She gestured to the chair across from her. "Why not take a seat? There's coffee or tea if you wouldn't mind waiting a few minutes." Weiss needed a break from her endless search that only seemed to bring up more questions instead of answers.

Unfortunately, it seemed as if Winter had other plans. Though she did take a seat, the previously amicable expression turned into one that she wore when in meetings, something that had Weiss adopt a similar attitude.

"Unfortunately, our time for formalities is at an end Weiss." Though it was a minute detail, Weiss gave a small cheer inside of her at the sound of her sister addressing her by name. For years it had simply been, "sister." There was little time to dwell on this however.

"What happened? An attack? White Fang activity is at an all time low Winter." Assumptions make a fool out of you and me. Weiss knew this well enough; but when Winter Schnee came to you with what she clearly regarded as a serious issue, it was best to be safe rather than sorry.

"Luckily no, there hasn't been any trouble for a month now, best that it stays that way." Winter produced a single folded up sheet of paper from her breast pocket and handed it to Weiss. "What I have is, fortunately, of a much more positive subject, though just as serious."

Unfolding the sheet slowly, Weiss stared at the sheet in front of her, eyes scanning for anything that might have brought her sister rushing to her office. For all intents and purposes, it seemed to be…

"Though I'm not saying it's unimportant Winter, why do you need me to read the reports of a Grimm attack in Atlas?" The paper in her hand depicted a recent altercation between a pack of Beowolves and a small squad of hunters-in-training. Though the squad showed some signs of potential in being able to handle the situation, it was at most, something for the proper academy to look into. All in all, Weiss gave her sister a confused look.

Winter's response was a short as it was clear as she rotated her finger in a small circle. "The backside Weiss." She supplied.

"A-Ah…" A small splash of color reaching her otherwise pale face, Weiss turned the paper over. Another attack encountered by the same squad. This time however, it was by a much more lethal horde of Grimm. The attack seemed to include several Ursa making an appearance. Hell, the report even mentioned sightings of several Death Stalkers and a King Tajitsu.

Weiss' blood ran cold. That sort of conflict wasn't something that students could handle, no matter how talented they were. It would have taken, at the very least, a pair, or even a trio, of trained hunters and huntresses to subdue the horde safely.

"Keep reading Weiss. It isn't what you think." Winter, already aware of her sister's personality, spoke in advance. While she was cold, Weiss was always aware of the value of lives; otherwise, she wouldn't have spent so much of her time and energy trying to better the lives of the Faunus. Though, part of that may have had to do with Blake Belladonna pushing the motions for peaceful protest in concert with her teammate.

Not speaking, Weiss continued on with reading. The Grimm had gotten exceedingly close to the town at which the students were staying at before another individual, presumably hunter, had gotten involved. The next portion had Weiss standing up while she read out loud.

" _The Grimm had gotten within 100 yards of the town entrance before a person came to our aid. Though they did not identify themselves, this person, whom I can only assume to be a hunter, swept in at an exceedingly fast pace before tearing into the line of Grimm."_

At this point, Weiss could only appreciate the fact that she wasn't yelling the words as her mind read faster than her mouth could speak.

" _The, 'red blur' if I may name the individual as such, had quickly wiped out the small fry by the time we had regrouped and headed out to check the situation from a closer distance. Even then, the combatant was already in the process of beheading the King Tajitsu with a large scythe before we finally made it."_

A scythe, an honest to god scythe in battle. There were only two people in Remnant that used a scythe with that much skill, and one of them was perfectly comfortable at home in Patch.

" _Whoever they were, this combatant was exceedingly quick in a fight; even from our vantage point above the battlefield, we could only catch glimpses of them flitting towards each of the Grimm. The Death Stalkers, which were the only Grimm left, proceeded to seemingly explode as the figure approached each of them. Though we attempted to make contact with the individual as the combat ended, they immediately departed the scene, though not without, strangely enough, giving us a signal that we learned was for, 'all clear.' As much as we could make out, they were wearing a thick black cloak that obscured our view of their face, though there were reddish-black folds of cloth from what seemed to be a skirt that came from their feet. Otherwise, their appearance was concealed. -Team CRKL, Leader: Crest Luke"_

Weiss' eyes were wide as she spoke the final words. The silence that followed was deafening; no words were needed to address the elephant in the room. Eventually though, Winter broke the silence.

"Weiss, we have no confirmation of whether or not it truly is Ruby Rose. For all we know it could be another individual. The knowledge we hold is not the end all be all of the world. You could be going on a wild goose chase."

Weiss gave her a hard look. "It doesn't matter Winter. If it's possible that Ruby is out there, I have to go." It was just another thing that had changed since her school years. Weiss was no longer the unconfident individual that was all bravado without any substance.

"Why not just ask her sister and Miss Belladonna to investigate?" Winter tried to reason with Weiss.

"They're in Vacuo for another week. By the time they return, Ruby could be long gone; that's a risk that I'm not going to take." It had been two years damn it, and Weiss would sooner return the company to her father than give up the chance to find Ruby.

Winter however, clearly saw differently, shaking her head as she spoke. "Weiss… sister, I can go. Can't you trust me?"

Up until now, nothing had swayed Weiss' resolve as much as this. Trust. Something that was hard to come by from the frosty young woman. Winter was one of the first who had ever earned it, even before her team at Beacon. Her elder sister had been one of Weiss' only confidantes in the entire Schnee household, with the rest of her relatives being some of the more poisonous snakes in the industry already.

Still, Weiss shook her head in refusal. "I can't Winter. You know that I trust you… but I can't give up on this." Looking down at her feet, the younger woman spoke in a remorseful tone. She didn't know why, it just… felt like Ruby wouldn't be there if anybody went besides herself.

"I have to go Winter… because it's Ruby." She thought for a moment before adding on. "Because she's my partner."

Winter stared at her sister. In the many years that she had known her sister, Winter had rarely seen Weiss so adamant about a decision.

"You don't understand Weiss, the terrain out there is harsh and the amount of Grimm high. The only reason we had a team of students out there in the first place was for that very reason. You… you haven't…"

Winter's reluctance to continue was noted by Weiss; it was something that she had expected. Running the SDC left little time for combat practice; indeed, it left little time for anything that wasn't handing out orders or reviewing the numerous reports that made their way to her desk every day. While Weiss may have been talented, talent could only take you so far after months of not actually using it.

"I am a trained huntress. There is no reason that I shouldn't be able to venture out on my own." A steely glint flashed in bright blue eyes as Weiss spoke; the sign of no compromise was clear to Winter.

"If you must, then so be it." Winter relented. "But keep in contact. You don't know what might be out there." Her formal facade slipping at the thought of Weiss encountering mortal danger, Winter finally let some of her concern as an elder sister show.

"I know Winter." Weiss gave a weak smile. "Could you tell Blake and Yang about this? They aren't scheduled to get in contact until tomorrow evening and by then…"

Winter waved away Weiss' concerns. "I'll receive them personally and explain the situation." She left the rest unsaid. What happens after the pair heard that their other teammate had gone to find their leader without them… that was out of her hands.

"Thank you." Stepping forward, Weiss met Winter in an embrace, the two taking comfort in family. Separating a few moments later, Weiss shut down the displays on her desk, gathering up the documents and placing them in a locked drawer.

The SDC building went dark as the sisters exited into the parking lot; Winter entering a small black convertible while Weiss climbed into the driver's seat of an admittedly gaudy looking white sports sedan. A brief wave goodbye later, and the two were gone.

The drive back to her apartment was tortuous for Weiss despite driving usually being a sort of solace for the young woman. A feeling of freedom and speed, something that let her finally relate to her leader that moved much too quickly for her own good.

The lights of Atlas winked at her through the windshield, something that on any other night, she would have admired. Her hands gripped the steering wheel tightly as she went over the speed limit, something she rarely did. And yet, it felt as if she couldn't get back fast enough despite knowing that she wouldn't be leaving until tomorrow morning.

Almost robotic in her actions, all Weiss could think about as she took the elevator to her apartment and opened the door was the sheet of paper that Winter had handed her. A small town on the fringes of Atlas, it was a wonder that the town still stood given all the factors that ran against it.

Weiss opened up her closet, pulling out a small pack that she had been using for the small amount of missions that she had taken over the years. She quickly filled it with the essentials: food, water, and the like. Laying out a pair of clothes for tomorrow, Weiss proceeded to the bathroom.

A pristine sight greeted her as always. The room was spacious, but not overly so, with tan tiles lining the floor and one sink with a mirror over it. A shower was placed in the corner of the room, lined with textured glass to obscure the view of the person inside. Of course, the largest feature that took the predominant amount of space was a large bathtub that was set along the wall; seldom however, did Weiss utilize the piece.

Weiss stripped off her business suit and stepped into the shower, letting out a sigh of relief as the hot water descended on her. Weiss both loved and hated taking showers. For one, they allowed her to relax, to forget the stresses of the day and revel in the simple comfort that was afforded to her. On the other hand, it also led to times like this, where she would be left completely alone with her thoughts.

Dare she hope? That after two years without a peep, that they finally had a solid lead? That Ruby may just be around the corner? The thought was almost too good to be true and yet… Weiss' heartbeat sped up just at the thought. Her imagination drew up images of Ruby Rose in her trademark red cloak, Crescent Rose in one hand and the other waving at her like a… dolt. Despite the impossibility of it all, Weiss… wanted to believe.

As she laid in bed, dressed in her nightgown, these thoughts and more swept through Weiss' thoughts.

' _Ruby… wait for me.'_


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

Though she had used to despise waking up early in the morning, Weiss has quickly learned to adapt at Beacon. After all, preserving her hearing was something that she prioritized, especially when faced with the ungodly sound of Ruby's whistle. Team RWBY's leader had always seemed to be able to find the accursed object, no matter how many times Blake had hid it away.

Weiss' habit of waking up at the crack of dawn hadn't dulled over the years. If anything, it had only become more pronounced with the need to be punctual when running a business. The cold climate of Atlas had certainly helped with waking up in the morning, something that the CEO could now appreciate as she shivered in her thin nightgown.

Grabbing the pair of clothes that she had prepared the night before, Weiss quickly changed into a white blouse that went underneath a similarly colored knee-length jacket that was adorned with the Schnee family crest on the breast. The skirt that she had been so fond of as a student had been lengthened to reach below her knees, a light trim lining the bottom of it. The heels however, had quickly become something of a burden, especially when she would be wearing them for days that sometimes went for well over the typical 8 hour working day. Instead Weiss had exchanged them for a comfortable pair of boots that perhaps halfway up to her knees.

A small necklace also adorned the young woman's neck. The small piece of jewelry had been a gift from Ruby to her teammates at their graduation; at first, the elder girls had been skeptical of their young leader's ability to make such a thing, believing it to be some sort of elaborate prank. When they saw the single ornament on the otherwise simple chain however, they quickly changed their minds. Sealed within a layer of glass was a single rose petal, one that the three had become all too familiar with over the years.

' _It'll remind you of me!'_

Ruby's words echoed even now.

Shaking her head and ridding herself of such thoughts, Weiss grabbed what seemed to be a small cylinder from the table before snapping it to the belt that secured her skirt. Double checking everything, the young woman made her way out the door.

It was time to begin the search.

' _With any luck, I'll have Ruby back here by the end of next week.'_

She didn't really believe it. With team RWBY, nothing was ever that simple.

-Break-

"YAAAAHOOOOOO!"

An elated yell filled the air as two figures appeared in the air above the blazing sands of Vacuo. Both were wearing heavy shawls in an effort to stop the fierce sun from burning their skin; a common practice among the residents of the desert nation. Several more distinct bangs filled the air as one of the two soared even further ahead, each burst in altitude accompanied by another projectile that flew from their fist.

The image of happiness however, was quickly shattered by the appearance of 3 Death Stalkers appearing from behind the sand dunes, only to meet the concussive explosions from each of the projectiles. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to stop them in their tracks as the two people fell from the sky. Converging on the figure that had fired the projectiles, the 3 Death Stalkers swung a claw down, a massive amount of dust and debris flying up to accompany the impact.

"Yang!" The pieces of cloth on his head blown off by the winds, Sun Wukong's fierce blond hair made an appearance in the sweltering desert. Though many would have mistaken his outburst to be one of panic and concern for his teammate, they would have been mistaken.

"Yeah don't worry Monkey Boy, just havin' some fun on the way!" Yang Xiao Long was currently standing underneath the claws of the Death Stalkers, though perhaps _in between_ would have been a better description.

The blonde's hair draped down to her waist, glinting in the sun like a jewel which, given its owner's disposition towards it, it might as well have been. With the various cloths flung away in the flurry of movement, it was easy to see that the work of a Huntress had done wonders for the young woman's appearance.

The brown leather jacket stayed around her shoulders, though a belt of ammunition now now hung around each cuff. Instead of merely wrapping around her neck now, Yang's scarf draped down to around her midriff, the brawler's emblem proudly stitched upon it. Her stomach was now covered by the black shirt she wore underneath the jacket. Yang's penchant for short-shorts hadn't changed, and neither had the preference to wear a belt that had more pockets than her jacket. She had however, changed out her boots for ones that were heeled and traveled up to her thighs. All in all, it was almost enough to distract most from the three deadly Grimm that were intent on skewering her.

"Just don't take too long, we have to make it to Vacuo's capital by today." A small chuckle worked it's way up the monkey faunus' throat as he watched his friend of many years play with some of the most deadly monsters on Remnant like a dog might with a chew toy. Any remaining concerns that he may have had about his companion getting careless were blown away as Yang's fist made a devastating impact with the tender bottom of a Death Stalker's body.

"Hell yeah!" Anyone not used to the sight would have had eyes popping out of their head as the massive creature of Grimm achieved lift off, flying several feet off the ground before crashing down once again.

"You have no idea how good that feels after walking for two days straight!" Yang's personality hadn't dulled much over the years; if anything, the blonde bombshell had just gotten more _explosive_ if she was to say so herself. The two Death Stalkers seemed to share this opinion as they ceased aggressively advancing towards the young huntress, instead choosing to glare menacingly at her as if she would run away.

What Yang had just displayed was the textbook method of fighting a Death Stalker. Avoid direct conflict when possible and allow it to attack; long staggering blows will allow you openings to take advantage of. When striking, aim for the soft underbelly where armor is absent in order to deal the most possible damage. Take care to avoid the stinger that contains deadly venom.

But who was Yang Xiao Long?

A confident smirk was on her face as she completely ignored standard protocol. Like Yang had proclaimed earlier, Sun and his wild (even by his standards) companion had been doing nothing but travel for the past few days in order to reach the capital of Vacuo, where they would catch the next airlift back to Vale.

Standard? Safety? You may as well have asked for a monsoon to hit Vacuo!

With Yang dashing forward, flames licked the ends of Ember Celica as their wielder brought them up.

"YAH!"

 _CRACK_

With a loud crunch, Sun greeted a sight that would've had most hunters and huntresses wide-eyed surprise with a resigned sigh. "Well, I guess that was a lot faster than waiting to counter."

Yang had swung her fist downwards like a sledgehammer, the strike igniting in a brilliant flame as it came in contact with the Death Stalker's rock hard shell… that would be blown apart as easily as tissue paper as Ember Celica descended. Screeching in an inhumane expression of pain, the unlucky victim of Yang's strike staggered back a few steps before collapsing, dead.

As for the remaining creature of Grimm…? It didn't even get a chance to attempt another strike before the dragon's wrath bore down on it with the force that had so easily crushed its brethren

"Alright, we're all cleaned up here monkey-boy, good to go." Yang dusted off the sand that had ended up on her shoulders, Ember Celica folding back up into the bracelets that rested on Yang's wrists.

Sun gave a thumbs up as he put the shawls back on his head: getting a few moments of fresh air was nice, a sunburn along the length of his neck and face? Not nearly as much. Looking back to the map displayed on his scroll, the faunus figured about two more hours until they made it to the capital. Once there… his attention was diverted by a notification on the digital screen.

"Hey, you in the mood for a drink once we get back?" Sun, along with Neptune, had become something of a drinking buddy with Yang since they had graduated Beacon. It made sense in a way, since neither of Yang's teammates shared the blonde's inclinations to become mind-numbingly drunk.

Still, Yang gave him a questioning look. "I thought we were in a rush so that we could get back in time for our flight."

The monkey faunus at least had the sense to look sheepish as he rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah about that…" he held his scroll up in his hands. "I just checked the flight schedules. Looks like they're not taking off until tomorrow because of sandstorms that'll be coming in the area soon. So we still gotta hurry back, just not for the same reasons."

Yang let out a frustrated sigh before resigning herself to throwing on the shawls that had been blown away during the fight.

"Hey Sun…"

"What is it?" Taking a look back towards Yang, Sun Wukong could only try to not panic as he noticed the mischievous grin on his companion's face. The sound of Ember Celica deploying should have been his first warning.

"There is a faster way back instead of walking you know." Rounds slid into place, a very audible clicking noise notifying Sun of his impending doom. He was all for fun, but this…?

"I don't know about-"

It was too late. Yang had, in a flash, hooked the faunus by the neck while running off the nearest sand dune, firing Ember Celica all the while.

"-THIIIISSSSS!"

"TOO LATE SLOWPOKE!"

Shouts of panic and excitement were reported by the guards of Vacuo's capital only half an hour later.

-Break-

Quiet, just how she liked it.

Blake Belladonna gave a short glance over the novel she was reading.

Correction, just how _they_ liked it.

Having finished their mission earlier in the day, the feline faunus and her partner for this particular mission, Lie Ren, were taking some time to kick back after the week's worth of hard work.

And so here they were, Blake with a book in hand and a cup of coffee in front of her, Ren with only a cup of tea, seemingly just enjoying the peace and quiet. A small smile came to her lips; had the two of them been paired on a team at Beacon, Blake felt as if they would have made a fairly good one.

 _Her team…_

Of all of team RWBY, Blake felt as if Weiss had probably been the one most affected by the little red speedster's disappearance, though Yang had come in at a close second. The sisters had been inseparable, their rambunctious and noisy personalities serving to balance the quiet and calm that their partners had brought to the table. Blake still had Yang as her pocket of sunshine, Weiss… was left in Atlas with nobody. Sure, the occasional visit and greetings were exchanged, but it truly wasn't the same as having someone there to look out for you.

"Blake." Said woman flicked her head up, realizing that she had been somewhat zoning out over her thoughts. Inquisitive pink eyes peered at her own, a mixture of curiosity and concern that she quickly waved off.

"It's nothing serious Ren, just the same as always."

A rare expression of sadness found it's way onto the martial artist's face. "Ruby?" The loss of team RWBY's leader hadn't just affected their team, the ripples had made their way out to their friends as well. Team JNPR had taken it especially hard, seeing as how the two teams were nearly merged at the hip. Had there been 8 person teams allowed, you wouldn't had known the difference.

Blake's eyes stared into her cup of coffee, the brown liquid offering a distorted reflection of her face. "Since when has it been anything else?"

"She's probably fine. We both know that Ruby is more than capable." It was a sound argument. Given the fact that Ruby had been at the top of her class in terms of combat capability at the end of their fourth year at Beacon, she was in very secure hands: her own.

"That's about defending herself." The subtly implied meaning wasn't lost on Ren.

"She had to learn how to get along on her own sometime, I'm sure she manages in her own way." The uncertainty in his voice wasn't missed by Blake.

"Ren, you know as well as I do that Ruby would rather spend the entirety of the day polishing Crescent Rose instead of talking to anyone."

"You're…" Ren couldn't lie through his teeth. "...probably right." He responded to Blake's deadpan tone. They all knew about Ruby's obsession, yes obsession, with her weapon. It had become something of an urban legend among the first year students amusingly enough. The disembodied voice whispering sweet nothings in the dead of night in the machine room on weekends. In reality it was simply Ruby maintaining her weapon following the leadership courses and homework that had been assigned to all third year leaders and above.

"It's been two years Ren" Blake drained her cup before speaking again. "Two years without a word of contact. No messages, no calls, no nothing." Setting her book down, she ran a hand through her now shoulder length hair. A white jacket went over her shoulders as a black blouse went underneath it. Her partner's influence was apparent, a scarf with Blake's emblem winding itself around the faunus' neck.

"I know Blake… I know. But her uncle was clear when he told us that she was safe. Right now, it's all we can do to believe him." Ren had never been one for large emotional displays, but that didn't mean that he couldn't empathize with others. Ruby had been just as precious to him as she had been to her other friends.

Blake stood up, taking her book with her. "Believe me, I want to trust in Ruby's uncle as much as everyone else does. If she's safe though, why doesn't she get in contact with any of us?" Blake's distress was clear, the serene air that had surrounded the two of them gone.

"What if she was forbidden by her uncle? She could be training." Ren elaborated, it had always been his role on the team that had been so excitable so calm everyone down. "You don't know what happened, so you shouldn't assume the worst."

"I-I know… but it's just that…" Blake had always assumed the worst case scenario. It had saved her hide on multiple occasions, be it on during her early years with the White Fang, or in her years as a huntress. Right now though, she wished that she could think anything but what her instincts told her to.

"I understand, but you should know as well as I do…" Ren finished off his own tea. "That Ruby isn't someone to give up, at all."

Blake stared for a moment before replying.

 _Blake!_

 _We'll definitely be able to stop them Blake, don't give up!_

 _I'll always be around for you to talk to Blake, I'm your team leader after all!_

' _Then where are you now Ruby?'_

"I know Ren, I know."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

It took a lot to make a Weiss Schnee even contemplate giving up, to make any Schnee think about giving up really. And yet, the youngest in the Schnee line was just about ready to call it a day, having spent much of it hiking her way up the mountainside in order to reach the town of Eins, the town which Team CRKL had stopped at for their mission. Whereas the group of students had taken two days to scale the distance, Weiss had made the trek in merely a few hours. Though the hike itself hadn't been particularly treacherous, the various Grimm that she had encountered had taken a toll on her stamina.

Speaking of which, a few more were now making themselves known from the cliffs to Weiss' left. By her count, there were around ten Grimm that stood packed together luckily, none of them were especially dangerous. Though the common Beowolves and Ursai had long since failed to be a threat to her, the terrain itself made this battle treacherous. Combine that with Weiss' already failing stamina, and it was enough to make the woman take this battle seriously.

Flicking the cylinder that she had packed into her hand, Weiss quickly pressed a switch on the base that had the entire thing expanding rapidly; first were the multiple, progressively thinner, pieces that shot out only to be reigned in by Weiss' aura. Each piece snapped together, the base of the cylinder forming a guard while a thin segment that had remained in Weiss' hand became *the hilt. The blade itself was white, a carbon copy of Myrtenaster right down to the length and width. The guard however, had changed significantly. Gone were the cycling dust chambers, the weapon itself now imbued with the power of Nature's Wrath through the engravings on the guard and hilt.

Into Team RWBY's later years at Beacon, Weiss had quickly learned that carrying copious amounts of highly volatile dust was not an option on most missions. Given that the then heiress' fighting style depended largely on her dustcraft, changes had to be made; the result was a complete reconstruction of her beloved weapon with copious amounts of help from Ruby. It had taken quite a while to build, and even longer for Weiss to get used to the now extremely light weapon, but in the end, the benefits far outweighed any losses.

As much as Weiss wanted to stop to admire the craftsmanship of her weapon, the roaring of the Ursai quickly prompted a pristine white glyph to form underneath her. Being propelled at a velocity that would have otherwise been impossible for her, Weiss quickly slowed as she reached the apex of her leap. A flare of red light lit up the sky as the figure in the air descended; flames burst onto the Grimm as Weiss slammed into the ground. Several of the Beowolves were killed almost instantly, even the Ursa were damaged by the fierce attack, backing away from the epicenter of the blast.

Not wasting any time, Weiss' weapon flashed in the light of the fire as it ran through one of the nearest Beowolves that hadn't been destroyed by the fire. Metal met bone as Myrtenaster clashed against the claws of an Ursa. Weiss' body quickly moved back, disengaging the clash in order to regain her mobility. Another glyph formed behind her as she was propelled forward at a breakneck pace, leaving a deep slash on the Ursa, ending it's life. Though this wasn't a fight that took a lot of energy, it had to be understood that Weiss had repeated a similar scene many times today. Humans had a limit, and Weiss was rapidly approaching hers; thus, it was with a breath of relief that the white-haired woman ended the last of the creatures of Grimm.

Letting out a huff as she returned Myrtenaster to its original state, Weiss once again steeled herself as she fingered the necklace around her neck, reminded of why she was here. Ignoring the growing fatigue, she continued on with ragged steps.

' _I have to find her. I can't let Ruby think that…_ that _was all our partnership was worth.'_ Pulling down the white beanie hat that she had added to her outfit upon entering the snowy mountains, Weiss recalled her… less than superb exchange with Ruby when the latter had first informed her team of her long-term mission with her uncle.

-Break-

" _WEEIIIIIISSS!" Said heiress braced herself, already prepared for the impact that was no doubt coming for her. Several moments later, as expected, an ecstatic Ruby Rose collided with her partner of four years with nothing less than complete elation in her tone._

" _Can you believe it? We're graduates!" The exuberant redhead had her arms thrown around Weiss neck in a hug from behind. "We're huntresses!"_

 _As much as she wanted to give Ruby a knock on the head before scolding the girl, well, now more of a woman than anything else, Weiss just couldn't find it in her heart to yell at the moment. Not when the happiness in her partner's voice was so apparent._

 _Instead, she opted to remind her of some realism. "Yes Ruby, we are. We still have to make our way out there in the world you know." Constructive criticism, yes, that was how their relationship had always worked._

 _Of course, that didn't mean that the comment didn't elicit a slight pout from Ruby. No matter how skilled of a huntress she was, it seemed as if the girl would retain the same innocence that she always had. "Don't be a spoilsport, today's our big day!" Knowing that the white-haired woman in front of her would disagree._

 _Weiss gave an amused smile, already knowing where this conversation would lead to. "And it's also the first day that we're professionals instead of students Ruby." Seeing her partner play the part and seemingly deflate, Weiss quickly followed up. "But I suppose it's okay if we take today to celebrate."_

 _Ruby's grin was more or less a reflection of how everyone around her felt at the moment; resplendent in their caps and gowns, excited for their new future._

" _Hey shrimps, we have to get going! Dad said he'd give us a ride!" Weiss gave a scowl as the atmosphere was broken by the loudest, and regrettably, tallest, member of their team, Yang Xiao Long. Standing next to the blonde girl was her own partner, one whom Weiss had come to appreciate as the only one who could reign in her fiery counterpart, Blake Belladonna._

" _Taiyang is waiting at the entrance, apparently we'll be heading to Patch to celebrate." The feline faunus supplied an explanation with a bemused smile. Having only grown more relaxed over the years, Blake had managed to put her demons behind her, now focusing on the future, instead of her past._

 _They had started out as a team of four, hardly a team at that. A 15 year old teenager, a haughty heiress, an ex-terrorist, and a hot-headed rebel. Yet somehow, the mismatched group of girls had somehow managed to become an acclaimed team at the most prestigious combat academy on Remnant._

 _Before Weiss could respond however, Ruby had already interjected. "Alright girls, we've graduated. Our next mission is to celebrate! The night will be filled with cookies!" Ruby's eyes almost glimmered in anticipation of the sugary armageddon was no doubt due to occur tonight, before she saw the rest of her team watching her. "A-And of course other stuff too! Like- Like…"_

 _Seeing the three older girls in front of her stifling laughs, Ruby stuck her tongue out in defiance. Having grown used to their leader's behavior, the three simply followed her towards the entrance, ready to spend a night out on the town. Hopefully without firing any bullets this time._

 _It was only later that Ruby and Weiss would have a chance to speak to one another again, after the girls had already retired for the night. The two sat next to one another in Ruby's room, Yang and Blake having retired to the former's dwelling._

" _Weiss."_

" _What is it Ruby?" The heiress huffed, trying desperately to get a wink of sleep on the inflatable mattress that she had packed in advance._

" _Do you… you know, think that we'll be able to stay partners?" Seeing her partner turn over and give her an incredulous look, Ruby quickly elaborated. "What I mean is, uh… do you think we'll still do missions together?"_

 _Weiss opened her mouth… and then closed it just as quickly. She had been tempted to immediately reply with the most pragmatic answer when she stopped herself. Somewhere deep down she discovered that she, not so surprisingly, had the same question._

" _...Yes Ruby. I'll see to it that we can stay partners at least some of the time." And damn anyone who was in the way of a Schnee driven towards a goal._

 _A slightly stunned look on her face, Ruby's expression soon morphed into a chuckle._

" _What?" Outraged at the fact that she was being laughed at, Weiss immediately dared the room's other occupant to reply._

" _Nothing Weiss." And after a slight delay. "But thank you, and I promise too."_

" _That's what I thought." An indignant huff followed, one that the two were long used to. Yes, Weiss thought to herself, life was good._

 _-Break-_

"If only I had known what she was planning…" Weiss gritted her teeth in frustration, the wind now whipping against her face. What had happened the next day… would forever haunt Weiss' nightmares.

' _Then… maybe I wouldn't have said what I did.'_

-Break-

" _YOU'RE DOING WHAT?!" Ruby winced at the screech that had come from her partner; she knew that it was optimistic to hope that Weiss would take the news calmly, but she didn't think it would be this bad. Then again, how could Ruby not have known? Otherwise, she wouldn't have asked Weiss to come out with her to a little secluded patch of forest before she broke the news to her partner._

" _I-I'm heading out on a long-term mission with Uncle Qrow in a week."_

" _And how long will you be gone?" The heiress' sharp eyes bore into her own, demanding an answer._

" _I'm not sure…"_

" _What do you mean you're not sure?!" Even through her yelling, Weiss knew that she was being unreasonable. Hunters and huntresses rarely had a set timetable on their missions, long-terms missions even more so. At this moment in time though, she didn't particularly care. The painful tightness in her chest reminded the pale woman only too clearly of what her team had come to mean to her. She was well aware that they would be separated when they finally went on missions; and yet she had, for some reason, held it in her heart that Ruby at least, her partner, would stick with her. They had promised._

 _The hurt that showed in Ruby's now gleaming silver eyes was only too easy to read for Weiss. "I'm sorry Weiss… but… I can't…" The words were full of hesitancy, pleading, and most of all, desperation; desperation for Weiss to understand._

 _Unfortunately, emotions were seldom reasonable. It gave Weiss some kind of vindictive pleasure at seeing Ruby in such a state; to know that with a her approval or denial, Ruby would hang on to her every word. It lasted only for a moment before Weiss mentally recoiled, appalled that she would sink that low._

" _And what if I come with you?" She still held on to the small hope that she would be able to accompany Ruby. It wasn't a plea, it wasn't a demand, just a hope._

 _Dismay filled Ruby's face, something that made Weiss regret her question. "It's just me and Uncle Qrow… he told me from the start."_

" _And since when have you known Ruby?" Weiss' throat was dry, her words sounding hoarse as she spoke. The anger was back and burning in her; the clenching of her heart was almost painful._

" _..." Ruby mumbled while looking down at her feet._

" _Speak clearly." The sharp and, for the first time in years, malice filled scolding came all too easily._

" _A month." Ruby stood in place, unwilling to see the look on her partner's face._

 _That would soon change as a short laugh tore itself free from Weiss' throat. Ruby's head whipping up to see what had happened._

" _A month. An entire month..." Up until now, nothing had frightened Ruby the way that her partner's voice now sounded._

 _No. Weiss wasn't supposed to sound like that!_

 _Her eyes weren't supposed to look like that!_

" _Who else knew? Was it just me who didn't know? Blissfully unaware like a fool?!"_

" _No! No no no, Weiss please! It's not like that!" Her voice cracking, Ruby tried to patch up the situation as best she could._

" _Then what is it?! Why didn't you tell me Ruby Rose?!"_

 _The crimson haired girl's mouth open and closed, hands clasped together and held up to her chest. She desperately wanted to speak, but no words would come._

" _We're done." Ruby felt her stomach sink, whatever remained of the celebration dinner last night now threatening to empty itself onto the ground._

" _Best Teammate… That was silly wasn't it. Hunters and huntresses go out on missions alone all the time."_

 _No, this wasn't supposed to happen! Ruby wanted to scream. Weiss is supposed to stay with me! After all, Weiss was… Weiss was…_

" _But that wasn't the only empty promise I made was it?"_

" _Weiss! I'm sorry- I'll- I-" NO. Why did her voice work now! Why couldn't she say what she wanted._

 _Recalling their promise last night, a wild panic surfaced in Ruby's mind. More than anything, she didn't want to hear the words that followed._

" _Goodbye, Ruby." Her tone was hollow- dead. "You're a huntress now, congratulations."_

 _As if she had waited for it, Weiss began to move away, leaving her red-cloaked leader to herself._

" _No… Weiss please…" The words were distorted, Ruby's voice choked by her tears that were now streaming down her face. "Please Weiss… come back."_

 _It was too late, the heiress already too far away to hear the weak voice of the girl who had finally found it._

 _-Break-_

The worst had been when Qrow had returned after two months with no Ruby in sight.

No Ruby.

Weiss had been ready to admit to her wrongs, to beg her partner to forgive her for the words that had spilled out from her mouth that night. The guilt that she had caused anything but happiness to come to that happy and innocent soul was enough to have her losing sleep. She had nearly lost it when Qrow had said that his niece wouldn't be returning any time soon.

 _It's my fault._

Clenching a fist around Myrtenaster once again, Weiss reaffirmed her resolve.

"It's my fault, so I'll bring that dolt back." The vow was spoken to the empty air as Myrtenaster snapped open, ready to rend the pack of Grimm that was standing in front of her. It was at least three times as large as the one she had eliminated previously. The fact that it was mainly made of Ursa only drove the difficulty up.

The next few moments were a blur of emotion and combat. Heat flared around her as red dust exploded into brilliant flame; glyphs propelling her back and forth among the pack. Just as she was about to behead another Ursa, a bout of dizziness assaulted her senses. It was only natural; Weiss had been fighting all day, climbing the mountain without any sort of rest. The fact that she had slept fitfully last night hadn't helped her stamina either, not withholding the fact that she had always had the worst stamina out of Team RWBY.

The moment was weakness was enough for an Ursa to slam a paw into her side, sending her careening off on her side, rolling through the snow as she eventually slowed. Searing pain ridding Weiss of her dizziness quickly, she looked up only to find a Death Stalker staring her down.

 _No… NO, I can't stop here. I have to find Ruby!_

And yet, her body wouldn't listen to her. Blood stained the white jacket she was wearing, dripping on to the ground as it slid off the pure white garment. Weiss could only watch as the tail of the Death Stalker swept up, ready to pierce her body with its wickedly sharp end.

She closed her eyes, waiting for the blow to come, for her end to finally come. She deserved it for what she did to Ruby. She waited for death.

And waited…

And waited…

But the blow never came. Instead, a horrific screech of pain was what finally made her eyes snap open. The figure in front of her was unknown and yet, hauntingly familiar at the same time. It was clearly them who had saved her, the stinger of the Death Stalker now sitting in the snow, having been lopped off by a…

"Ru...by?"

...Scythe

A sad smile made itself known on the figure's face as they turned around, the wind now blowing off the hood they had worn.

"Heya Weiss...:"

 **A/N**

Well, this is the first time that I've written an author's note for this story that I hope all my readers have been enjoying. I'd just like to leave a few words of thanks for all those who have left a review, favorited, or followed the story. Your support is greatly appreciated.

Unfortunately, there is no secure update schedule for this story, as it depends on my schedule and availability. It is guaranteed however, that before a period of absence that will last longer than 2 weeks, I will leave a notice in the chapter before said period.

Additionally, I will say this now, I have no intention of making this story include Bumblebee as well. The reason being that I do not believe myself competent enough to write a satisfying story for those two at the moment. I hope that you will understand my decision.

Once again, thank you all for reading, and I hope you will follow this story to it's conclusion.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

It was one of the rare days in Atlas where the air wasn't frigidly cold. The fact that the country was in the extreme north had also led to the constant exposure to sunlight. The pleasant combination was not wasted on Yang Xiao Long, who was currently making her way to one of the various cafes that lined the streets of the veritable metropolis in order to meet with her longtime friend and partner, Blake Belladonna.

The two had already decided to find one another after finding that the end date for both of their missions coincided very conveniently. They were also expecting a certain CEO to be there as well, though, strangely enough, said person had not contacted either of them.

Easily sweeping the thought from her mind with work as the excuse, Yang slipped into a smaller establishment on the side of the road with an older sign that simple read "Cafe" above it. It certainly wasn't as modern or "chic" as the other stores on the street, but it certainly had many charms that other places weren't able to match. Most importantly, it had the unique feature of offering private rooms to parties who wished to reserve one. It was perfect for people who wished to perhaps work on something quietly, or in this case, hold a private conversation.

Letting the door close slowly behind her, Yang made her way up to the counter where a middle-aged man, about 40 and some years old was reading the paper. Glancing at her from over the edge of his paper, the man folded up the object before shooting her a questioning look.

" 'scuse me. Was wondering if there was a reservation for a Miss Belladonna anywhere on there." She gestured to the computer monitor that sat in front of him. "The name is Yang Xiao Long." She added. Even as she spoke, the words "Miss Belladonna" in her voice sounded strange to Yang's ears. At least the blonde knew where her more "refined" teammate had acquired her mannerisms.

After a momentary glance, he answered as he handed her a key; all of the rooms were locked for privacy purposes unless otherwise requested by the patron. The only ways to get in, legally anyways, was to either have your name on the list, or to have the other person let you in themselves. "Miss Belladonna will be in the last room at the end of the hallway. If you need anything feel free to ding us with the pager that is inside the room."

Giving the man a nod, Yang departed for the previously indicated room. Giving it a light knock to indicate her arrival, Yang inserted the key into the doorknob and twisted. The room was of a medium size, a clean cloth couch lining the wall for anyone to relax. A small window was open to the side street that it looked out into, though it could be just as easily obscured with the curtain that lined it. Yang's attention however, was caught by the person who was sitting at the single table in the room.

"Still got a thing for tuna after all these years huh Blake?" Her tone filled with mirth, Yang stared at the feline faunus that was furiously attempting to swallow what seemed to be a too-big-bite of a tuna sandwich.

Taking pity on the raven-haired woman, Yang closed the door with one arm as the other handed her the glass of water that sat on the table. After taking a panicked sip, Blake was finally able to respond.

"You could have waited for me to open the door…" She shot the other woman a dirty look.

"Eh, but where's the fun in that kitty-cat!" The grin on the blonde's face told Blake exactly how much Yang actually cared about the glare that was sent her way.

"Please, don't tell me that your humor has extended to rhymes now as well."

Taking her own seat next to Blake, Yang's smile never faltered. "Of course not 'Miss Belladonna,' what on earth would give you that idea? Besides, I know you yearned for my puns day and night while I was gone."

"Of course Yang, whatever you say." Blake was, of course, unamused by the display. Still, she appreciated the time she spent with her teammates nevertheless. "Any word on if Weiss is on her way?"

Seeing the subject switch to the rapier expert in their team, Yang responded with a negative. "Can't say I would know. I thought that Ice Queen woulda gotten in touch with you if anything."

Blake shrugged, it wasn't uncommon for the shorter woman to be too busy to meet with them, though she would always try her best. "Well, that aside, how was your mission with Sun in Vacuo?"

"Boooring… A week of guiding a caravan through the desert, except there was nothing going on anyways. I could feel the sand between my boobs only a few hours in! It was amazing that I made it all the way without dying of boredom!"

Secretly, Blake also found it amazing how Yang always managed to have talk so shamelessly; then again, her partner had never been known for her modesty, even back at Beacon.

"At least we got into a scuffle with some Death Stalkers on the way back, managed to get some exercise that wasn't walking after doing way too much of it." Yang finished her story while scratching her head, looking for something on the menu. "Anyways, how was your mission?"

"It was the elimination of a pack of Grimm on the edges of Vale. Ren and I were more than enough for a pack of that size. Not to mention the biggest Grimm that we ran into was an Ursa."

Thinking back to the few days that she had extra at the end, Blake's thoughts naturally went back to the conversation with Ren.

"Yang… did you get any news on your end?" The lilac eyes hardened; there was no need for an explanation as to what Blake was asking.

"No, still haven't heard anything." Her fist clenched in frustration. Before Yang could potentially cause any damage to the table however, a knock at the door sounded.

Trying her best to put a smile on her face, Yang stood up to open the door, already suspecting she knew who it was.

"Hey Wei- Winter?" Standing there in her Atlas military uniform, was Winter Schnee.

It wasn't as if the Atlas Specialist had never met her sister's teammates before; far from it in fact. There had been occasions where various parts of team RWBY had cooperated with Winter Schnee for one reason or another. It was simply that the latter had never deigned to meet with them outside of working, save for a few occasions.

As efficient as always, Winter went straight to the point. "May I?" She indicated the door, preferring not to wait until Yang's impression of a fish ended naturally.

"O-Oh yeah, sorry." Stepping out of the way, Yang allowed the elder Schnee sibling to walk into the room before closing the door again. As the woman took a seat next to Blake's other side, the faunus was already posing a question.

"Not that we aren't happy to see you, but what are you doing here?" The relationship between Winter Schnee and the remaining members of team RWBY had always been one of mutual respect, not of friends. Being curious was only natural, if slightly prude.

As always however, Winter forwent the formalities and went straight to the point. "My sister has left a message for you both."

That got the attention of both girls. What kind of situation had Weiss gotten herself into that she couldn't get in contact with the two of them herself?

"You will understand better if you read this." She handed the same document she had to Weiss two nights ago to the two huntresses. The information was classified, but only to a basic level; hunters and huntresses were certainly entitled to it.

As she noticed the two of them approaching the end of the report, their eyes growing wider with each line they read, Winter finally spoke.

"Weiss left two days ago to investigate this lead. She was unable to tell you due the fact that the two of you were away and without access to the CCT. I informed her that it was foolish to go alone, but she was insistent in doing so."

Winter waited for the reaction thats she knew was coming… and was surprised when it didn't. Instead of immediately exploding and charging out the door as many would have expected, Yang only sent a concerned look at Blake.

"They should be okay Yang." Blake recalled the words that Ren had spoken to her only a few days ago. "Weiss is strong. Ruby too."

Winter was puzzled to say the least. "I would have thought that the two of you would be the first ones to pursue my sister in her search for your missing teammate."

"Well ya see…" Yang scratched the back of her head in a sheepish manner, knowing that she was the main cause for this expectation. "We trust Weiss." The lilac eyes opened from their previously closed state. "Ice Queen might be pricklier than the cactus I almost stabbed myself on in Vacuo last week, but she's also a part of Team RWBY."

Winter was floored to say the least.

"Not to mention." Blake added on. "You said Weiss left two days ago right? With that kind of lead, we wouldn't be able to catch up before she was already on her way back considering where she was headed."

The small smile on Winter's face would've been nearly unnoticeable unless someone was watching her specifically.

It seemed as if Weiss wasn't the awkward little girl anymore. After all, she had made some very good friends.

-Break-

Weiss' eyes were as wide as she could manage in her dazed state. The previously fiery pain that had been tearing its way through her nerves was now little more than a dull throb in her side, her shock doing a better job of relieving her pain than the most expensive analgesic.

"Ruby…" The name came out as a breath, her burning lungs screaming at her for air, but her brain too taken with the scene in front of her. Perhaps Weiss hadn't expect it, but in reality, it only made sense that Ruby would have changed the most out of all of them; the girl had been 15 when she entered Beacon. Six years later and the young woman had done more than simply grow taller; at the prime of her life, Ruby was… beautiful.

Gone was the baby fat that had still remained on her face, a sleek paleness remaining despite how much of her time was spent outdoors. Her previously short hair was now let down, the crimson tips now reaching beyond the woman's shoulders, a small hair ornament in the shape of her namesake adorning it. The rest of Ruby's attire had clearly been adjusted for combat; the red cloak now only hung on one shoulder, trailing down her back until it reached the her waist.

A black wool sweater hugged her figure, and opening on the lower back showing a large scar that Weiss was certain had not been there before. Long dark maroon pants were worn underneath something akin to a sarong. The pitch-black cloth was trimmed in the dark red that had come to be expected of Ruby, with small silver trinkets in the shape of crosses being sown into the edge as well.

One moment was Weiss almost drinking in the sight of her partner…

' _If I can even call her that anymore…'_

Then Ruby, quite literally, vanished.

Disappeared.

Faded Away.

Whatever words you wanted to use, the redhead was gone, a deafening silence left in her place. It was only broken moments later by the sound of something falling to the ground; the sight that complimented this left Weiss wondering if she was still dizzy from the hit.

As if by magic, the Death Stalker that had been previously threatening her life, laid neatly bisected lengthwise in front of her. Crescent Rose danced in Ruby's hands, the weapon itself having undergone several changes along with its wielder. The shafter and blade were both lengthened to match up with Ruby's reach and height. Though it had previously towered over the young girl when she wielded it, the size of the scythe now was such that Weiss doubted whether most lesser huntsmen could even lift it, much less wield it. Still, it didn't prevent the reaper from carving through the Grimm at a blitzkrieg pace.

Beowolf, Ursa, Death Stalker. It didn't matter to the grim reaper's blade as it tore through all of them, cold metal meeting bone and flesh that just as quickly yielded to the deadly weapon. Already there were much fewer Grimm in the area, a testament to Ruby's skill and efficiency. Ending just as suddenly as it had begun, the engagement hadn't managed to last more than a few minutes at most. The sound of Crescent Rose being sheathed signaling the end of the fighting.

Now came the hard part.

"Ruby." Weiss spoke as if drunk, her voice sounding alien even to herself.

"Third times the charm?" Bewildered blue eyes met silver as even Weiss' apprehension was given pause at the remark.

"Excuse me?"

"Third time you've called my name today Princess." Ruby chuckled a bit at the look that she had rarely seen even two years ago.

"That- That doesn't matter…" Struggling to come up with something intelligent, the white-haired woman opted for a question instead. "Where have you been Ruby?"

"Oh, you know, here and there." The answer was purposely vague, Weiss could tell as much by the smile on Ruby's face.

Relieved that she could at least find _something_ familiar about Ruby, Weiss replied in kind. "Oh? And where would that be?" A single eyebrow raised, the CEO gave no room for more roundabout answers.

"Everywhere!" Of course, the look that had many lesser businessmen cowering had no effect on Ruby. "Seriously though, I've been around everywhere. Vacuo, Mistral, Atlas, you name it."

Shaking her head, Weiss accepted that she would probably never get a proper answer to the question, at least, not to the extent that she wished it to be. At least Ruby was behaving like herself, something that Weiss was confused, but more importantly, relieved by. "Whatever, that's not important right now. What is important is that you come back Ruby."

The smile stayed on her face. "Why is that? I don't think anybody is in mortal danger right? Last I heard, the White Fang was still defunct."

"Because-" Weiss hesitated. _She_ wanted Ruby to come home. What reason did Ruby have to come back? Because the crimsonette missed the rest of her friends as well?

"I'm perfectly fine out here Weiss. I knew that Uncle Qrow telling you guys wouldn't have done it, but now that you see me all in one piece, it's fine right?" That smile was still there.

"You- How can you be so calm about this? Ignoring the pain in her side, Weiss shuffled her way towards Ruby, her fury that had been slowly building starting to show through.

"You've been gone for two years Ruby." She stomped a foot into the ground. "Two _years_. We didn't know what happened to you. You didn't communicate with anyone!"

"Well…" Rubbing a hand on the back of her head, a sheepish _smile_ made it's way onto Ruby's face. "I didn't have much time you know?" It was a weak excuse, not nearly enough to satisfy Weiss' need for an explanation.

"That's not good enough you damn dunce!" Politeness and dignity forgotten, Weiss grabbed Ruby's shoulder, shaking slightly. "We were all worried about you! The least you could do is take some responsibility."

As if stunned by the sudden outburst, Ruby's facial expression didn't change. "Hey, if that's what this is about I can call you guys from now on." Though Weiss didn't see it, Ruby bit down on the inside of her cheek.

A low growl was the reply. "No Ruby Rose. I am not leaving unless you're coming with me. Blake, Yang, and I all made a promise to bring you back if we ever found you."

Weiss didn't pay much attention to the words that she spoke, anger and stubbornness clouding her judgement.

The same could not be said for Ruby.

"Promise." With one word, the rush of memories came back to Weiss, regret and apprehension, among other things, filled her. It had been just one word, but for the two women, it may as well have been thousands.

"So you _promised_ them right Weiss? Just like you promised me." The dam had been broken.

"No Ruby wait. I'm sorr-"

" _No_ Weiss." Ruby spat out the words through gritted teeth. "You're not sorry. You can't _be_ sorry, because you don't even know what you did!"

Weiss was suddenly very pale, even more than usual.

" _You_ broke your promise to _me_ Weiss, so why should I believe that anything you say is any better?!" The cheerful silvers from before had become a hard steel, a cold glint radiating enmity showing itself.

"I _trusted_ you." A deafening bang as Cresent Rose once again made itself known, slamming into the tough rock beneath their feet. "And you showed me exactly how much that meant to you back then." That goddamn smile was _still there,_ the same smile that Ruby had worn since the two had seen one another.

How could Weiss have believed that the smile that Ruby Rose wore on her face was real?

When the former had relentlessly crushed the other's heart those two short years ago.

"I never forgot Weiss." As the woman met those cold grey eyes, she couldn't help but feel a horrible sense of wrongness. "Just. Go."

The burst of white-hot emotion that had come forth like an inferno to burn Weiss was now retracted, Ruby's weapon doing similarly with a cold efficiency as its wielder turned away and began to walk.

It wasn't right.

It wasn't right for those grey orbs to contain anything but happiness. For them to look so hurt, so _betrayed_ …

"Ruby…"

"Go."

"I'm sorry."

"Weiss. This is the last time. Just go."

And for a moment, Ruby thought that her former partner _had_ left. She threw the ever familiar red hood on, the silence surely signifying a lack of presence.

"Please Ruby." The mentioned female froze. In their relationship of six years, Ruby had never heard Weiss Schnee of all people, _beg_.

Once she turned around, she wished that she hadn't. Slick tears were running down Weiss' face, the drops twinkling in the fading light of day.

The sight made something stir in Ruby's mind. The scene of a girl in a red hood, desperately begging for a white-haired beauty to stay.

" _No… Weiss please…" The words were distorted, Ruby's voice choked by her tears that were now streaming down her face. "Please Weiss… come back."_

Ruby hit her lip until it bled. Why did she remember now?

"I'm so s-sorry Ruby…" A small hiccup interrupted Weiss' apology, sobs wracking her small frame. "I never wanted to-" She paused, realizing what she was about to say.

"To hurt you like that…" Yes. She had hurt Ruby. Hurt the most important person in her life. The one who had dragged her from a life of solitude and deception with little more than her bright smile, one that she could now only hope of ever seeing again.

Weiss was thoroughly crushed, having never realized the power that her actions had held. She had been all but ready to throw herself off of a cliff to apologize to Ruby. Never had she thought about if her precious partner would actually accept.

Never had she thought about the pain she had truly caused.

Weiss had Yang.

Weiss had Blake.

Weiss had Winter.

Weiss had everyone.

Ruby was _alone._

Why? Because her _best teammate_ had left her. For what? A petty grudge?

Ruby could feel the tension in the air. She knew that her next words would decide how she would spend the rest of her life. Either alone, or with her friends… her family.

And yet, it was so much easier to stay away. These past two years had been numb, but they had never been as painful. Never as painful as that fateful night.

And so, she spoke.

"I can't Weiss." Her body moved forward as the words spilled out of her mouth, a faint wetness on her cheeks making itself known. "I'm scared to be hurt. To be cold."

And yet, the warmth of the woman in her arms was undeniable.

Weiss heard the words, felt her heart sink at the denial… before finding comfort in the arms that now embraced her shoulders; she reciprocated.

"Then come _home_ Ruby." The words were slow, hesitant, like a child afraid of making a mistake. "I won't leave again, I-"

Her mind froze. It was just one word. One word that had caused them so much anguish that she dared not to speak it.

"Promise?" It wasn't Weiss that spoke. It was Ruby that whispered into her ear. The grip only became tighter.

Moments of silence followed before it was finally broken. "Yeah…" Her grip tightened, as if afraid Ruby would run away. "Promise."

Their faces flushed, and tears running freely, two women embraced one another among a field littered with the ebony corpses of Grimm.

-Break-

It would be several minutes before either woman was up to even moving, their soft sniffles echoing like a drum in the empty mountains around them.

"Ruby…?"

"Yeah Weiss?"

"I'm sor-" A finger held up to her face stopped the woman from finishing her sentence.

"Don't say anymore Weiss. I'll forgive you." Ruby's voice was flat, as if her forgiveness had been a forgone conclusion.

' _I haven't done anything to deserve someone like her in my life.'_ Weiss thought to herself. Never had she berated herself for the first impressions that she had of Ruby more. Unlucky? Being put on a team with the absolutely impossible girl in front of her had to be one of the most fortunate occurrences of her life!

"Then let me say this instead." With the two finally letting go of their embrace, Weiss pushed Ruby's finger down. "Thank you Ruby."

"Hey don't mention it, what are partners for?" This time, a real smile made it's way to Ruby's face; the large silver eyes once again filling with joy.

It was quite a while before Weiss would stop crying again, unable to believe that she deserved any of this.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

It was some time later when Ruby and Weiss were able to speak coherently to one another again. The pair had held their grievances for two years, each unable to find solace in any place besides the other. The pain they felt was real, terrible, and completely terrifying for both women, yet it was much better than the numbness that they had endured for so long. And as with all things, it had to end some day.

"...Hey." It was Ruby who spoke first, the two of them now sitting around a small fire in one of the many caves that dotted the mountainside. Now the taller of the two girls, Ruby had lead Weiss into the cavern that was large enough to fit even a few more people, much less the two diminutive women.

"What is it?" Though her voice was still shaking from the crying that she had done, Weiss was at least now ready to talk.

Ruby brushed her hand over Crescent Rose before answering, her connection with the weapon as apparent as ever. "Sorry… for flipping out on you like that. It wasn't right of me."

Weiss shook her head. "No, I'm sorry. You were completely justified in your rage."

And Ruby chuckled, the sound was nostalgic, so full of genuine amusement and joy that Weiss almost forgot the be mad that she was being laughed at.

Almost.

"Well excuse me!" She huffed.

Calming herself down Ruby managed to reply. "S-Sorry princess." She paused for a moment before realizing what she had said before breaking into a small chuckle again.

"Did you hit your head on something?" At this point, the other woman in the cavern was starting to be seriously concerned for the other's mental health.

"N-No Weiss. I just find it so funny that we keep apologizing to each other. We've already both forgiven haven't we? So from now on, don't apologize to me, and I won't do so for you either, or else it'll never stop."

Weiss paused; since when had her little dolt become a philosopher?

"Right well… shall we get back to the point?" Disconcerted, Weiss fell back into what she knew the most of: business.

"Do tell your majesty." Weiss sent a glare over in Ruby's direction at the nickname. Needless to say it didn't do much to stop the laughter.

"Ruby Rose, now is not the time. I came here to bring you home."

At this, the crimson huntress' laughter finally stopped, her happy expression falling slightly. "Sorry Weiss, I can't; and not just because I don't want to. I literally can't." She stopped before making a slight addendum. "At least, not yet anyways."

"I'll give you five minutes to explain Ruby." Weiss mentally winced at the tone she had taken, not meaning to sound so accusational. Luckily, with her personality, the younger huntress barely took notice of it.

"I came here for a reason Weiss, and it wasn't because I like Atlas' freezing cold, I'll tell you that much." As if to emphasize her point, a gust of cold air blew a few flakes of snow over the fire where they quickly disappeared in the heat.

"Then for what reason would you-" The image of a report flashed into Weiss' head. "The Grimm are acting up around here aren't they? Why not just leave it to the regular huntsmen to take care of?"

While it sounded selfish to suggest so, Weiss had sound reasoning in her corner. After the incident with CRKL, it was almost guaranteed that the government of Atlas would send out a more experienced group of hunters to investigate the situation. A Grimm attack of that size would be enough to alarm one of the larger cities, not to mention a smaller settlement that was a twentieth the size of Atlas.

"Because there's no way that this amount of Grimm would gather together naturally. If it were a regular thing I would've just left it like you said, but just think about the pack that attacked you earlier!" Ruby's voice echoed in the confined space, tinged with just the right amount of urgency to make even the ever calm Schnee feel some concern.

"I bet it wasn't the only one either. Ever since around four days ago, Grimm attacks have only been getting worse each day."

Weiss wasn't stupid, she knew exactly what Ruby was implying, no matter how disgusted she was by the thought. "So you're telling me that someone is attracting Grimm to this settlement on purpose?"

A grim nod was the response. Both huntresses clenched their fists in anger. It was one thing to be a criminal; to steal and injure. It was another thing entirely to start using the enemy of mankind as a weapon against your own brethren.

"So… now you know. I can't go back yet Weiss; I just can't."

Though she begrudgingly admitted that the situation couldn't simply be left alone, Weiss wasn't pleased to find out that Ruby would be camped out here for the next few days, weeks, or even months trying to figure out this mystery. If that was the case, then the most efficient way to resolve the problem was…

"Then I will stay with you." Despite her former line of reasoning, somewhere deep down, Weiss knew her real reason for wanting to stay was simply to see Ruby. Two years was a long time to not see somebody, and for Weiss, the brief moments that she had shared with the crimson huntress hadn't been nearly enough.

"Wh- No! Weiss you can't stay with me here!"

A delicate eyebrow was raised in response. The question was clear enough for Ruby.

"What if you get hurt?"

"Then that will be that. Besides, I'm rather offended that you think I can't take care of myself Ruby. I am just as much of a huntress as you are." Though that was probably a stretch, considering one of them had spent the last two years sitting in an office chair while the other was constantly traveling and fighting, Weiss refused to back down.

"Then what about your company?" The next excuse was just as desperate, and nearly the same in effectiveness.

"The SDC is in capable hands. Even if I was not there for several weeks, there is enough work done in advance for the managers to handle it."

Ruby had never been able to win in a verbal spar with her partner, the latter simply being much more gifted in her way with words than herself. It had been that way since the day they met and clearly, the dynamic hadn't changed much.

"Then- Then…" Ruby stuttered as she attempted to find something else to persuade Weiss to go without her. "What about Yang and Blake? You have to let them know right? I'll still be around the area, and our scrolls don't work from out here."

Weiss gave a small smirk, now glad that she had asked that favor of Winter. "I already have my sister on that. Blake and Yang were due to return the day after I left; she was kind enough to alert them on my behalf."

Ruby sighed. "Then you're dead set on staying?"

"You should've known that in the first place you dolt."

"I don't suppose I could convince you that I would be fine on my own?" It was futile, that much was obvious. Still, Ruby fought on as a matter of principle.

"Not a chance."

Ruby pinched the bridge of her nose, thoroughly defeated in her attempt to dissuade Weiss. She now found out why her friend did it so much: the pressure being released from her head was glorious.

"Well, there isn't any point in staying here any longer." Weiss clapped her hands together to sweep off whatever debris had gotten on them, her raven haired companion looking up at the sound. "Let's head out to the nearby town, it'll be better suited for to use as a base than this cave."

Unfortunately, large wounds, especially those caused by the creatures of Grimm, were slow to heal even with the Aura of an experienced huntress working on them. Weiss, who had forgotten about her injury after not disturbing it for so long, was quickly reminded of this fact by the splitting pain that came from her left side as she stood up.

Even as she suppressed the gasp of pain that threatened to spill from her lips, the woman was already bracing herself for an introduction to the hard ground of the cave.

An impact that never came. "Heh, it's nice to not be the klutz for once." Feeling a pressure on her shoulders, Weiss opened her eyes to see a few red rose petals in front of her. Looking up, she saw a small smirk on Ruby's face that, to the CEO's horror, she found terribly attractive.

"You okay? We can camp out here for a night if you're not feeling up to the hike." Taking the silence as a sign that was still in pain, Ruby's expression quickly changed to one of concern, yet another face that the woman that she now held up found horribly disconcerting. The defined features that now replaced Ruby's once childish expressions would have no small amount of admirers once the girl made it back to civilization...

Yup, definitely not 15 year old Ruby anymore. Thankfully, Weiss managed to get out a few words this time.

"N-No, let's get going." Easing herself away from Ruby's hands as quickly as she could without agitating her wound once again, she picked up the small pack that she had brought with her before moving towards the opening of the cave.

Dismissing it with a shrug, Ruby simply followed with Crescent Rose hung on her back in its compact form, along with a small red pouch that was filled with a single clip of spare ammunition as well as a few first aid items.

-Break-

And so it was around an hour later that the pair found themselves in the town of Gpetha, a small settlement on the fringes of Atlas' territory that housed a population of a little more than 200. Nearly everybody in town knew one another, and, if new came, it was more often than not known by everyone in town in less than an hour. That said, the most exciting news that they usually got was a large crop harvest in the fall.

So it should have come as no surprise that the arrival of a pair of huntresses would become the talk of the town, or rather, the bar, since it seemed as if every warm body in the settlement had managed to fit themselves inside said building. It was to Weiss' great annoyance, (and Ruby's relative indifference) that the inn was also located in the same building.

Already knowing that her companion as in no mood to speak to people, Ruby was the one who went up to the counter to ask for rooms, leaving Weiss leaning against the wall.

"So, you're the huntresses that saw it fit to stake out in this godforsaken town in the middle of nowhere huh?"

Unfortunately, it seemed as if Weiss was destined to never be left in peace as a younger man, just slightly taller than Ruby, made his way up to her, a smile on his face and a drink in his hand.

"We're here on business." The reply was polite enough, if curt enough to signal that conversation was not in the cards.

"Well I would hope so. Otherwise I'd be a bit afraid of a nefarious plot going on in this backwater town of ours." Giving a small chuckle, it seemed as if the brown haired male, who couldn't have been a day over 25, was unperturbed by Weiss' frosty greeting.

Lamenting the fact that she had not simply followed Ruby to the counter, Weiss had no choice but to reply. "Really? Now what would give you that idea?"

The smirk that appeared on the other's face at this point only served to remind Weiss of a certain infuriating blonde woman. "Hey, anything to spice things up around here. Just between you and me though, the rumor mill has been spitting out some pretty interesting stuff recently."

Now _that_ piqued Weiss' interest. It seemed as if this conversation may pay dividends after all. "Do tell. I've heard that there is no better way to get the lay of the town than to hear its rumors." She sent a smile his way, turning on the charisma that had much more powerful people racing to do her favors.

"Izzat so? Then let me take a bit of your time." Taking a swig of his drink as if to brace himself, the man moved away for a moment to pull a pair of chairs up for himself and Weiss. Reclining into his own seat, he continued his story.

"Truth is, I'm lucky to be here telling this story to you. A few days ago we had another group come up to us, some kids who looked like they were barely out of school if you ask me."

' _Well, he would be right about that.'_ Weiss' mind flashed back to the report. Nevertheless, she provided an affirmative hum to prompt the man to continue.

"They said they were here to fight off a nest of Grimm." He took another drink before continuing. "It wasn't too surprising since the mayor had requested for help to fight off the Grimm since there were more of 'em than usual. What came after was… nothing that anybody would want to remember. Hordes of Grimm, Death Stalkers, Ursa, you name it, they came here."

The man's pale face captured exactly how the townsfolk must have felt when confronted with that kind of attack. "Now, I'm not one to judge by appearance, but if you told me a week ago that four kids barely out of the academy were going to fight _that_ , I would've told you that you were crazy. But dust be with us, the kids did it. Said that they had some help but what did we care?"

"Is that right? Well that's a batch of students with some potential then." Already knowing how the conflict had come to an end, Weiss was more interested to see if anything else had come of it.

"Ha, you're telling me. Anyway, we went out there yesterday to see if we could find anything that could explain the recent increase in Grimm. All we found was this little black box." While speaking, he brought out a small object, slightly smaller than someone's fist, out of his pocket.

"Been trying to tinker with it to see if anything'll come of it, but nothing works." He gave a shrug his story apparently over.

"Well that _is_ very interesting. Would you mind if I took a look at it?." Nearly a decade of her life spent schmoozing at parties and balls, Weiss spoke in the soft tone that had deceived many of the more unscrupulous businessmen at those parties into a false sense of security.

This man, though probably much more innocent than those others, was no better at resisting her charms. He tossed the little block over without an argument. "Just keep it, you'll probably be able to make more sense of it than I can anyways." He gave her a little smile, just a little embarrassed and perhaps, happy.

Weiss swore that the man was about to offer her a drink when she felt a tug at her side. Turning to face whoever it was, she found herself face to face with Ruby. The smile on the woman's face was familiar, but not in a good way. Still, Weiss couldn't quite place where she had seen it before.

"Hey Weiss, I got us a room that's pretty nice according to the owner. Took awhile to get the guy to let me haggle him down, but here we are!"

Just slightly stunned by the rapid fire speech, Weiss found herself being almost dragged out of her chair and towards the stairs that led to the inn portion of the building. Ruby refused to turn around as they moved at a pace that was _quite_ a bit faster than normal walking speed.

"H-Hey!" Weiss turned back to the man that she had been talking to. "Name's Sipher, what's yours?"

"Weiss." She could feel the grip around her hand tighten as she responded. "You can tell me the rest of the story later." Before she could hear the man's response, Ruby had already pulled her the rest of the way up the stairs.

Needless to say, Weiss was just a bit outraged.

"Ruby! What was that all about?"

"Oh nothing, just wanted to spend some more time with my partner you know." Doing her best to hide the mischievous grin on her face, Ruby unlocked the door to a room at the end of the hallway. It was quaint, a single bed adorned the room; a small nightdesk with a lamp sitting on top of it standing nearby. The single coffee table had a pair of chairs at it, small cushions placed on the seats for the patron's comfort. The room was tasteful, if a bit plain.

It did little however, to abate Weiss' fury. "I was trying to get some information from him Ruby. This would go a lot quicker if we had something to work off of."

A look of guilt quickly came over aforementioned girl's face. "Sorry Weiss…" She sheepishly rubbed the back of her head. "I was just…"

"Just what?"

"...Nevermind. Let's just put our stuff away and then we can get dinner alright? The guy I was talking to said that they have dessert."

Deciding that it wasn't worth getting into an argument over, Weiss simply held out her hand.

"What?"

"What do you mean what? You haven't given me the key to my room yet." Weiss replied testily. Ruby's eyes widened a bit before she went back to looking at her feet.

"Ruby. What aren't you telling me?" The tone of voice was dangerously similar to the voice that she had used to lecture Ruby all those years ago at Beacon.

"..mi...one...oom" Mumbling through her teeth, it was hard to make out any words Ruby was actually saying, let alone comprehending what she meant.

Weiss sighed in resignation of the fact that she was destined to be doomed with such a partner. "Just say it."

"Imighthavegottenoneroomforbothofus!"

Ruby's eyes were clenched shut as she spoke, bracing herself for the outburst.

She waited.

And waited…

And waited…

After about 20 seconds of consecutive silence, Ruby popped one eye open to see what seemed to be a Weiss statue.

"Uh… Weiss? Hello? Anybody in there?" The typical humorous waving of arms and making of faces ensued; but no matter what she did, Weiss simply stood stock still, an expression of shock still on her face.

Just as Ruby was about to start panicking, Weiss finally spoke in a trembling voice. "W-What did y-you say?"

"We're in the same room…?"

"That's what I thought."

"Weiss!" With nary a second after she had finished speaking, said woman had pitched forward, having apparently fainted.

"WEEEISSSS!"

It was going to be a long night.

 **A/N**

Apologies for the delay in releasing this chapter, finals are currently going on and I have been studying. That said, I found a bit of time to finish off this chapter in between study sessions. Hopefully, this did not lead to a decrease in quality for you all.

This chapter was dedicated completely to Ruby and Weiss since the main story is going to move with them. A slight bit of fluff was included in here, but the two still have a ways to go before they see each other in a romantic light.

Once again, thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6:

Weiss had never been one for the sun; a naturally pale complexion that was prone to burning easily hadn't helped the burning ball of gas' case either. Of course, living with a human incarnate of the infernal orb that lit up Remnant every day had a somewhat therapeutic effect on the then heiress. This morning however, the woman couldn't ever remember loathing the thing more as it peeked into her eyes, ruining the slumber that she had been so content with.

Desperately delaying the inevitable, Weiss buried her face into the softness of the wonderfully soft sheets, their smell intoxicating as she tried to convince her body that it wasn't yet time to wake up. Wrapped in the relaxing warmth that seemed to chase away even the cold inside her, the woman almost managed to fall asleep once more… almost. Loathe as she was to admit it, Weiss was beaten by the incessant sound of footsteps..

Finally opening her eyes properly, her vision swam for moment as her eyes slowly adjusted to the brightness now lit up the room. At first she had been unable to tell, but this was definitely not the apartment that she had… bought. It only took a moment however, of taking in the neat but rustic surroundings for Weiss to recall her situation and start to scan the room in a slight panic.

' _Where is…?!'_

 _Click_

The crisp sound of the door opening had Weiss' heartbeat speed up significantly, forgetting that there was only one person who would probably be coming through that door. A defensive glyph immediately materialized itself between the door and herself, the Schnee family crest spinning into existence at the activation of her semblance.

"W-Weiss?" Staring at said person with wide silver eyes from the other side of the glyph, Ruby Rose held two plates in her hand. Walking in to find Weiss with an expression that looked ready to fight and a glyph pointed straight at her was clearly not what she expected.

With her expression shifting to one of surprise, Weiss quickly dissolved her semblance. "Sorry, but you should knock before you come in."

Giving her partner a weak smile, Ruby pushed one of the plates in her hands towards her. The smell of bacon, toast, and eggs pervaded the room.

"I thought that you would want breakfast." A sheepish smile came over Ruby's face as she explained. "Oh, and I slept on the chair so don't worry about it. Beats a cave floor anyways."

Barely registering Ruby's words, Weiss was instead focused on something else. "Ruby, where is your cloak?" The trademark piece of red clothing was missing from the crimson huntress' shoulders, leaving a small amount of bare skin that once again accelerated the white woman's heartbeat beyond what she was convinced was healthy.

"Uh…" Instead of immediately answering, Ruby gestured vaguely in Weiss' direction. Looking down, she noticed the color of the… blanket…

What she had been more or less burying her face in for the past ten minutes was nothing less than Ruby's prized red cloak. A similar color soon flooded Weiss' face as she realized what she had been finding such comfort in when she had woken up.

"I uh, thought that you might have been a little cold since I took one of the sheets. Sorry if my cloak wasn't enough!" Misinterpreting Weiss' silence as anger, Ruby immediately apologized in a frantic tone.

Forcibly fighting down the blush, Weiss took a deep breath before finally replying. "No, it's fine. Thank you for being considerate Ruby." Taking the cloak from underneath herself and folding it up, the woman handed the precious garment back to its owner.

"Don't mention it." Ruby spoke with a smile on her face, draping the cloak over the chair that she now sat in. Though the relationship between the two of them wasn't quite as great as it had been two years ago, it was as good as it was going to get after only reuniting for two days. Disconnecting from everyone that you know for two years tended to lead to some large gaps in terms of life itself. Simply put, it would take more than just talking it out for a few hours to solve all of their issues.

Settling into the same chair that she used as a hanger, Ruby took a generous bite of the eggs that were on her plate, waiting for Weiss to speak.

Though she was somewhat disgusted by the fact that her partner's eating habits hadn't changed over the years, Weiss took it in stride, reminding herself that they had more important things to do. "So, how do you suppose we go about investigating the cause of the Grimm attacks?"

"Look around for clues obviously." The response was carefree… until the speaker felt the eyes drilling into her skull.

Given Ruby's actions the previous night, it was hardly surprising that Weiss seething.

"S-Sorry…" Wincing internally, the recipient of the CEO's anger tried to change the subject as soon as possible. "But you know did you… get anything?"

The burning gaze was held for a few seconds longer before it broke off with a heavy sigh. Instead, Weiss vented her anger by pitching the black cube that she had gotten at Ruby. To the pale woman's surprise, the huntress barely batted an eyelash as the cube was caught securely in her fist.

Giving it a quick once over and finding it unremarkable save for a few screws on the edges of the object, Ruby shot a questioning look at Weiss.

"I got it from Sipher the last night. He said that they found it near where the students from Atlas started fighting the Grimm."

The sharp sound of metal parts unsheathing had Weiss looking up from her plate of toast and eggs to see Ruby with a utility knife in her hands.

"This thing is damn useful." The huntress supplied. "Either way, even if I can't find anything with this box, we should head out to that clearing to see if we can't find anything else that might have had to do with the accumulation of Grimm."

"Agreed, it'll also give us an opportunity to thin out some of their numbers as well, should there be an excessive amount."

After tinkering with the black box for awhile (breakfast lay forgotten on the table, rapidly growing colder) Ruby finally managed to pry open the stubborn object.

"Well, did you find anything?" If there was one thing that Weiss knew would never change about Ruby, it was the woman's prodigious abilities in technology. After the time the latter had somehow managed to hot-wire their scroll as a power source to a heating bag to keep warm cookies with her at all times, Weiss knew that there was no limit to the stupid and ingenious ideas that came from her partner's head.

"Yeah, let me show you." Walking over with the box held in her hands, Ruby laid the device down on the bedside table, Weiss laying the now empty plate to the side and swinging her legs over the edge of the mattress in order to get a better look.

Inside the box was something that looked like a glass vial, as well as a comparatively large conical device. A mess of wiring filled the rest of the space inside the object.

"See, I can't tell what would've been in this vial, but this cone piece here." She pointed towards it. "Is definitely used as some kind of amplifier. Seeing as how it's connected to the glass thing, I'm sure that someone is using whatever is in there as bait for the Grimm."

"Then there's no mistaking this for some kind of freak accident anymore. Someone intentionally attracted those Grimm here with the intention to use them on the town.."

The realization was disturbing. The fact that someone would actually use Grimm to attack other humans on purpose.

"We can't let this go on." Weiss was adamant, the formerly warm sky blue eyes now hard and cold with contempt.

Ruby nodded in response. "That's why we're going to stop them." Setting the box into one of the many pouches that she now carried, the crimsonette stood up and picked her cloak up from the chair. Clipping the cross pin into place, Ruby's appearance was more or less the exact same as yesterday.

Drinking in the sight, a sudden question appeared in Weiss' mind; she hadn't thought about it until now because it had seemed so inconsequential up until this point. That said…

"Ruby, when was the last time that you washed those clothes?" Stiffening suddenly, a nervous grin came onto Ruby's face as she turned away, each movement distinctly robotic.

"C-Come on Weiss, that's not important now right?"

Weiss ruthlessly pressed the attack. "What about the last time you've taken a shower?" She deadpanned. Her gaze drilled into the back of Ruby's skull until the woman finally turned around to make eye contact.

"A week…"

"A WEEK?!"

"F-Fine! It was two weeks alright! Finding a place to shower in the wilderness isn't exactly easy." The pout on Ruby's face could be heard in her tone. The expression however, quickly dissolved as she watched the quickly deadening look in Weiss' eyes.

"W-Weiss?" She waved her hands in front of the woman's face. "Remnant to Weiss? Come in Weiss."

All of a sudden, two pale hands shot up and landed in an almost painful grip on Ruby's shoulders.

"You are going to ask the innkeeper where the baths are. I am going to wash your clothes while you wash yourself. Understood?"

"B-But-" Myrtenaster had somehow appeared at her throat. "R-Right. Bath. Got it."

It would be another hour before the pair managed to leave the inn. A now wet-haired Ruby trailing behind Weiss.

The latter was grateful that the cold gave her an excuse for the flush that now covered her cheeks.

-Break-

The pair was able to travel much faster than before, refreshed after letting Weiss' wound heal, as well as having an actual meal and night's rest to work with. As a result, the two arrived at the field where team CRKL had first encountered the Grimm in about half an hour.

"Not much to see around here is there?" Ruby's remark broke the silence first. Since the Grimm remains had dissolved into thin air, only the scars in the hard earth beneath their feet served as proof of the battle that had occurred here.

Claw marks scored the ground where Beowolves had attempted to strike out; large cracks in the ground indicating the swing of a Death Stalker's tail. Cliffs that lined the area had signs up heavy weight crashing into them, large shatter marks where a bullet from Crescent Rose had pierced the earth while its wielder had propelled herself through the air. The only signs of life in the otherwise deserted clearing were a few birds that scoured the ground for any remains of an unlucky animal that had been caught in the crossfire.

"Thanks for the reminder." Weiss replied dryly. "Let's just look around for anything that resembles that black box. Since that is what was used to attract the Grimm, we might be able to find some clues on who made such a thing."

With a look and a nod, the two began to scour the area for anything that might resemble a clue. The thick clouds at this elevation however, made it difficult to see more than a few tens of feet in front. Rocks were overturned, small holes were dug out, and small caverns were investigated but even after two hours of searching, their results were slim to none.

Eventually, the two decided that they would have better luck simply splitting up to cover the vast expanse of the clearing rather than trying to stick together. In any case, it wasn't as if yelling wouldn't produce an echo that would alert the other. Things continued this way for another hour before Ruby finally decided to give up.

"Nothing here either…" Kicking another rock to the side, Ruby was understandably frustrated at their fruitless investigation. Perhaps scouting out movements in town would have been a better option? In her musing, the metallic clang of the rock's impact almost escaped her notice.

Metallic.

"What the…?" Looking down towards where the rock had fallen, silver eyes saw nothing but the same solid rock that covered every other surface. Still, there was no mistaking what she heard; she would have to make her way through the tough ground, something that would take hours unless…

Weiss wasn't around.

"Nothing for it I guess…"

-Break-

Weiss had been thinking similarly to her red-haired partner, heading back towards the general direction that they had split from when a terrific noise tore through the air. Less than half a second later, a deafening crashing noise sounded from directly in front of the CEO, powerful winds buffeting her as she raised an arm to protect her eyes.

"RUBY?!" An icy fear clutched her heart as she yelled out. Anything with that kind of blast would undoubtedly have had a terrific force behind it. As far as she knew, the only member of team RWBY who could match that was a certain blonde.

"Weiss! Over here!"

Though the lack of panic of her partner's voice calmed Weiss down to an extent, it wasn't until the woman saw Ruby's completely fine, if dust covered form, that she was convinced of the latter's safety.

"What on Remnant was that?!" The inquiry was well founded; what person would've expected such a massive impact out of nowhere? As far as Weiss knew, neither of the pair had brought any type of explosives with them. And unless Ruby had somehow awoken some miraculous talent with Dust in the past two years, it wouldn't have been possible for her to create such an explosion.

It seemed however, as if her partner was determined to completely disregard her as she remained silent. Just as Weiss was about to reprimand her for not replying, she saw what had Ruby standing there in stunned silence.

Beneath their feet was a shiny black sheen of metal that, upon closer inspection, matched the color of the tiny box that they had inspected this morning.

"It's gigantic…" Ruby's voice was a near whisper, and yet it still was eerily clear in the dead silence that pervaded the air.

The statement was blunt, but Weiss secretly thought it was perfectly accurate. The size of the thing, assuming it was in a cube shape like the one that Ruby had in her pocket, was at least the size of several office cubicles. If Ruby hadn't been here to stop the Grimm from attacking the nearby town…

Weiss didn't want to think about it.

"At least it doesn't look like it's active." Weiss tapped the heel of her boot on the surface. "Otherwise we'd be covered in Grimm right now."

"Still, we can't just leave this thing out here." The reply held a certain amount of reasoning in it. Even if the cube was inactive at the moment, there was no guarantee that whoever made it wouldn't be able to start it up again. Failing that, it just felt… evil.

"We're going to have to return to Atlas."

"What?!"

"Hear me out Ruby." Weiss laid a hand on Ruby's shoulder before she continued. "There's no way that we can move this thing on our own. If we head back to Atlas, I can have the SDC lift this thing out of here."

The plan was sound and altogether, completely logical. Still, it seemed as if Ruby's slight hero complex hadn't abandoned her over the years as a slight pout made itself known.

It wasn't like the huntress didn't recognize the necessity for more people; she just… wanted to resolve it on her own. After such an extended period of time of living in isolation, it was only natural that Ruby had grown used to solving any problem she had on her own. Having done everything from cook to hunting down dangerous criminals by herself, the lone wolf mentality had far outstripped her thoughts for teamwork.

"We can either head back to Atlas or spend a few weeks trying to dig this thing up ourselves Ruby."

Ruby's frown deepened further. "Weiss, there's no way that you can stay away from Atlas for a few weeks. A few days is one thing, but I don't want to get in your way."

"Well then, your choice is made isn't it?"

Ruby's mouth could only hand open for so many moments before she finally thought to close it.

"Fine… we'll head back to Atlas." A heavy sigh slipped out as she spoke, her dissatisfaction easily discernable. Leaving a mark on the map on her scroll, Ruby began to trudge back towards the town of Gpetha. A sudden tight grip on her wrist stopped her.

Turning back for a moment, she was greeted by the sight of Weiss' cerulean orbs looking into her own, concern clearly shown.

"Listen, Ruby…" Emotional displays had never, and most likely never would be, the albino woman's strong suit. "I know that you're used to doing things alone but I want you to… to-"

"To?"

"... to depend on me."

Ruby openly gaped.

"I know that… you don't trust me anymore…"

"But Weiss I do-"

"That's not what I mean Ruby." Weiss struggled. "What I want to say is… things are different now. Back then you would have been the first one to think of asking for help, and I would have been the one who didn't want to do so. Now we're completely opposite."

"Well…" Ruby couldn't think of a response, only a question. "What brought this on Weiss?"

Weiss expression was conflicted; torn between giving an honest answer and saving herself the embarrassment. In the end it was the reassuring look on Ruby's face that made the decision for her.

"I- We lost you once Ruby. I don't want you to feel like it's your only option to do things on your own again."

And suddenly it became crystal clear. Why Weiss was so twitchy and nervous. Why she was so adamant about finding Ruby herself and staying with her.

She was afraid.

Weiss Schnee was honest to god afraid that her partner would run off without her.

A goofy grin almost made Weiss want to shout again. Fortunately, it was quickly stifled by a hug that, nevertheless, left the heiress stiff.

"Oh Weiss… you're just being silly. I didn't want to leave alone you know. But I chose to forgive you and that's that." It was so wonderfully simple, an easy truth that Weiss could hardly believe she had the fortune of receiving.

But it was true. And it was the biggest difference of all. Ruby had chosen to forgive where Weiss had not.

It was such a wonderfully simply truth.

 **A/N**

Apologies for the later release time. I was occupied taking care of some appointments after finals which ended which took up much of my time.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7:

The Atlas airstrip was a massive sprawling collection of buildings, many of which were dedicated to catering to the needs of corporate rather than commercial flights. That said, there was still a larger number of commercial flights departing from Atlas than any other Kingdom in on Remnant, save for Vale. Given that Atlas itself was dispositioned to large amounts of snow and icy weather, this was in of itself, an impressive accomplishment.

Thankfully, today was rather light on the snowy weather, with only a few flakes accumulating as a light dusting on the ground. This was good for a number of reasons though, as Blake thought, the fact that it allowed the motorcycle that she was the (un)fortunate passenger of to remain stably rooted to the ground.

Given that the driver of said vehicle was her blonde partner, the feline faunus found her concerns of suddenly running off the roads quite reasonable. Then again, Yang had never developed a sense of safety while driving besides wearing the helmet.

The reason that the two were in such a hurry however, was that they had gotten a call on Blake's scroll a little over an hour ago from Winter Schnee. The older woman had, on no uncertain terms, made it clear that they were to arrive at the airstrip in no less than two hours. As for what the reason, the text that the Atlas Specialist had sent following the call was reason enough for their haste.

' _White and Red returning this afternoon.'_

Those words alone had been enough to send Yang tearing through across the hall to Blake's room in the hotel that they were both staying in while stationed in Atlas. It had, of course, disturbed some of the more… sensitive guests of the posh hotel that Weiss had always managed to snag for her teammates when they were in the neighborhood. A fact that both of them appreciated; yet now, Yang could care less if they stayed in a trashy motel at the outskirts of Atlas: Weiss had found Ruby!

Though she was loath to admit it, Blake had been just as excited by the news of their leader's return. While Ruby wasn't her sister, the girl may as well have been considering the amount of trust that they each held for one another. Only Blake's refusal to break from her typical demeanor held her back from simply skipping the stairs altogether and jumping out the window in her haste.

The time on Blake's scroll read 12:30 P.M. It was definitely considered "afternoon," but that was hardly a specific time-frame. Blake and Yellow burst through the doors of the main entrance to the airstrip, already sighting a familiar white figure, though significantly taller than the one that they both yearned to lay eyes on.

"Winter!"

The woman's eyes narrowed as Yang yelled out her name, later resorting to a sigh in resignation of the fact that the blonde would probably never respect authority.

"Where's Weiss and Ruby?!"

"In my pockets." Winter deadpanned. Never let it be said that she hadn't developed a wicked sense of sarcasm over the years. "Why are you assuming that it is your sister as well as mine who are arriving?"

"Right, Red and White. Who else would it be?" Yang rolled her eyes. "Why'd you name em' like that anyways?"

"Unlike you, Yang Xiao Long, I have a duty to uphold peace. This also includes encrypting information so that a neanderthal such as yourself cannot access it."

"Haha, very funny. When will they arrive ya' iceberg?"

Pinching the bridge of her nose and mentally making a note that Weiss owed her a favor for dealing with this woman, Winter answered irritably. "My sister commissioned an SDC transport to pick her up from the field, citing 'special circumstances' as a reason. Given that she requested such a transport several hours ago, they should arrive within the next few minutes."

"A few minutes…" Up until now, Blake had been silent. Once she spoke however, it seemed to put a damper over the entire commotion.

In a few minutes, they would finally see Ruby again after two years. After frantically searching across the four kingdoms, it was almost like a dream that it would be this easy to find the girl.

How would she have changed? They knew next to nothing about what Ruby had been doing for the past two years; for all they knew, her personality could have done a complete 180.

Yet, they were given no time to confront these possibilities as an announcement came over the speakers that dotted the inside of the building.

"Special Flight #1632 will be arriving at Terminal E in 3 minutes."

Terminal E was the specialized area that was typically used for military flights and the like. Given that Weiss had called in the flight as assistance in the field for a hunter operation, it was no surprise that their transport would land there.

Yang was the first to speak. "Let's go girls, Ruby and Weiss won't welcome themselves home!" A grin was clearly visible on her face, one that her partner could easily, after years of knowing her, was to cover up the blonde's own nervousness.

The remaining dozens of seconds waiting for the other half of team RWBY to exit their bullhead transport were some of the longest of Blake's life. As the transport was taxied to the entrance of the terminal, Blake chewed her lower lip.

Glancing over at Yang, Blake noticed that she was still putting up the "always cheerful" act, though her clenched fists were a dead giveaway to her true feelings. A sudden realization had Blake laying her hand on her partner's shoulder in an attempt to calm her down: Ruby was Yang's _sister_. The two had been nearly inseparable since they had arrived at Beacon and, from the large amount that she knew about the sisters, before that as well.

Lavender eyes gave a grateful glance before turning back to face the exit. Blake's support meant more than she would know right now.

And then they were there.

First was Weiss, dressed in a white blouse that Blake had often seen the white woman wearing. Her hair tied up in the usual off-center ponytail, she was a sight for sore eyes, attracting multiple gazes from the few personnel that were in the terminal. Despite that, the current group only had eyes for the woman behind her.

It was all so familiar. The wide grin, dark red highlights in her hair, an air of cheerfulness that was contagious to all who surrounded her; they were all things that made Ruby who she was, and none of that had changed.

And yet so much had. Silver eyes no longer gleamed with the childish innocence that they had so long ago. Gone was the little fifteen year old girl who had been so excited to start school; in her place was a confident adult woman, one who was without a doubt, one of the most skilled huntresses on Remnant at the moment.

One who immediately proceeded to trip over the small crack in between the exit bridge and the floor of the terminal, frantically grabbing at Weiss' shoulders in an effort to stay upright.

"Uh, hi Yang, hey Blake." Ignoring the annoyed glare that her impromptu crutch was giving her, Ruby tried to give the former two a nervous smile in greeting. No small amount of trepidation filled her as she waited for their response.

Yang stared for one second, two seconds, three seconds… before bursting into laughter at the sight of her little sister struggling to not pitch forward onto her face. "Hey Rubes, it's nice to have to have you back."

Quickly closing the distance, the blonde pried her sister off of Weiss before engulfing the still smaller woman in her arms. "I really missed you ya know?"

"Yeah…" Reciprocating the gesture, Ruby could only bask in the familiar warmth of her sister. Yang had never been one for subtlety when it came to her emotions, and now, more than ever, Ruby could appreciate that her sister was one of the straightest shooters you could know when it came to showing affection. "Thanks Yang."

After a few more moments, Yang reluctantly let go of her sister, if only to allow the latter to address the final member of team RWBY.

"So uh… what's up Blake?" Ruby scratched the back of her head sheepishly. Though they were doubtlessly close, Blake and Ruby had always been the furthest apart on team RWBY. This was only logical, seeing as how one member was her partner and the other was her sister. It was funny however, how their personalities worked out. Ruby being the energy that Blake used to get through her day, while the former saw Blake as someone to talk to when the stresses of school and being a leader was just too much.

And so it was to great surprise to Ruby when Blake silently wrapped a hug around her as well, silver eyes widening as the other woman hugged her.

"Welcome back Ruby." Blake spoke with a small smile crossed with a smirk on her face. "And to answer your question, nothing's really been going on except my best friend coming back from two years of isolation."

Laughing, Ruby pulled back. "Hey, who taught you to get a sense of sarcasm?" Not that she was complaining, but Blake had used to be the most serious of them all; even Weiss had to admit to that.

"Trust me, after being stuck with Yang for two years, you get used to it." A small sound of outrage sounded from the blonde before Blake spoke again. "Speaking of which, I'm glad you're back to keep her in check. She was absolutely insufferable with her puns."

"Hey! You loved my puns and you know it Bellabroody!"

Blake clicked her tongue in disbelief. "See what I mean?"

Fortunately, before the Yang could respond, another voice spoke out. "As much as I love to see my teammates engage in their own standup comedy routine, can I remind you all that we would all be much better served to return to my apartment first? I dare say that it is more comfortable there than in the middle of the airstrip terminal."

"Gee Weiss, go kick somebody's dog why don't you…?" Yang muttered under her breath, but followed along with Ruby as the latter waved her hands in warning to her sister before grabbing Weiss' shoulder.

"Hey come on, I'd rather not have to deal with you guys arguing when I just got back. Please?"

Holding Ruby's gaze for a few moments, Weiss finally sighed and started towards the exit of the terminal. "Fine, let's just get going."

"Thanks Weiss!" Ruby gave a smile and waved towards her two other teammates to follow. Winter, as expected, had already fallen into step with Weiss.

"Would you mind telling me why you had to request a transport to get here?"

Weiss shot her sister a look. "I suppose that you taking the reason that was provided would be too much to ask?"

"Weiss."

The owner of the name looked back and sighed before speaking again. "Just give me until tomorrow Winter, please?"

Following Weiss' gaze, the elder sister found the trio of RBY staring right back at her. Surprisingly enough, it was Ruby who spoke up.

"We'll explain as soon as possible Specialist Schnee. Though as Weiss mentioned, it would probably be a much more coherent explanation if you waited until we had a chance to rest ourselves."

Needless to say, everyone looked at Ruby as if she had grown a second head. The quickest to recover however, was Winter.

"I-I see." Horrified that she actually stuttered, Winter continued as best she could. "Well then, I hope to hear your explanation tomorrow."

Giving a small salute with a faint smile, Ruby replied easily. "Will do."

With nothing else to say, and the group having reached the exit, Winter walked off towards a military vehicle that she had taken here as a response to the call for a transport. It, at the very least, looked better on a military record than driving her personal vehicle here to pick up her sister.

Unfortunately, this left the rest of team RWBY to stare blankly at their leader, leading to a very awkward staredown between their leader and the rest of the team.

"W-What is it you guys?"

"Since when did you become a professional speaker…?" Weiss' lips trembled in disbelief. If someone had asked her to determine Ruby's identity based on the words that the crimsonette had just spoken, there would have been only one answer: Impossible!

"Well… you pick up a few things when you're traveling for two years straight. Being a bumbling social mess in front of officials only gets you so far you know." Trying to ignore the looks, Ruby continued to walk as the rest of her team followed.

"Sis, there's a difference between being socially stable and talking back to Winter Schnee. Even Uncle Qrow tries to avoid _that_ Ice Queen."

"I guess you could say that some people out there aren't nearly as nice as Winter then. Besides, she would never hurt us Yang."

With that, Yang couldn't argue. "...whatever." While it was true that she didn't like the elder Schnee sibling, it was equally as clear that Winter would never hurt those who she saw as allies, however reluctant she was admit to it.

"Anyways, lets get to Weiss' place. I'm exhausted."

"Finally, a reasonable suggestion." Weiss opened up the door to the car that she had called for an hour before their arrival. Thankfully, the chauffeur had been intelligent enough to send a message as to where it was parked. It was the same car that she had driven home the other night.

"Oh, I assume that you got here with your bike Yang. Since it only seats two, how about Ruby just ride with me?"

"We could probably squeeze three if we squished…"

"Yang!"

"Suit yourself."

"Weiss, the seats in your car are so squishy!" Oblivious to the conversation between her sister and her partner, Ruby was currently examining the state of the car, finding it much to her liking. "How much did you spend on this thing?"

Rolling her eyes, Yang supposed that she should just be glad that it was the same old Ruby. Gesturing for Blake to follow, the pair made their way back towards the entrance of the airstrip.

"About the same amount that you paid to go to Beacon for a year."

Ruby's face rapidly paled, her hands freezing where they had been rubbing over the soft interior leather of the car.

"Ruby it's fine." Weiss chuckled at the look on her partner's face. Humanity's worst enemy was nothing much, but a few thousand lien and this was what her partner was reduced to.

Knowing Weiss' background, Ruby tried to relax. Unfortunately, the seat that had seemed to be so soft at first now felt awkwardly uncomfortable as Weiss backed out of her spot and began to drive home.

"Hey Weiss…"

"Yes?"

"Could you get a less expensive car next time?"

"...We'll see."

They were almost out of the parking lot when they heard a scream of anguish that sounded suspiciously like Yang.

"I only stopped for twenty minutes, how could I have gotten a ticket!"

-Break-

As soon as team RWBY walked through the doors of Weiss' apartment, (Ooh's and Ahh's of their leader aside.) the latter two flopped down on the couch with practiced ease, the CEO taking her place across from them. Just for a moment, they sat there in silence just to relax before Weiss realized that Ruby was left standing up, the space next to the white woman being taken up by a pile of documents.

"Uh…"

Taking notice of the girl's predicament, Blake swiftly got up and set the various folders and papers on the coffee table in between the two couches. A quick word of thanks was uttered before Ruby sat down next to Weiss.

"So Rubes, you gonna tell us what you've been up to for the past two years or what?" Once again displaying her complete lack of tact, or rather, her complete disregard for it, Yang popped the question that was on everyone's mind.

Weiss had never spoken to the others about the circumstances of Ruby's disappearance. And considering the girl's own lack of presence in their lives, Blake and Yang could only guess as to why the latter's sister had left so suddenly.

Exchanging a glance with her partner, Ruby sighed before speaking. "Where should I start?" The rhetorical question bought the woman a little time.

"I guess you could say that I left because there was nothing to keep me around. Don't get me wrong." She added quickly, seeing the expressions on her teammate's faces. "Team RWBY means more to me than almost anything else, but I just needed some… time alone you know?"

It was definitely more than that, her teammates would be able to tell. Those moments with Weiss though, however painful they were, held a sense of intimacy with the CEO, and so Ruby excluded them from her story.

Seeing that the others were waiting for her to continue, Ruby quickly recovered. "Moving on, I guess I've just been traveling around the world. Seeing new sights and learning new things. Vale, Mistral, Atlas, and Menagerie, I've been to all of them and seen the people there."

"I guess… I just needed to see you know? I needed to see what I… what we did. I needed to see that what we did actually made a difference in the world."

It made sense, in some kind of twisted world, where a young 19 year old girl and her friends would have been the ones to fight off Cinder Fall and her sinister designs for the world.

"Ruby…" Blake spoke, knowing that part of the reason the fight had been so hard had been her insistence to keep Adam Taurus, the leader of the White Fang, alive. Despite their bond having long since been broken, it was never easy for anyone, much less one as empathetic as Blake, to take the life of one they had once called friend, much less lover.

"You did make a difference Ruby. The White Fang is gone, and faunus are slowly gaining more respect than ever before."

"I know Blake… but Uncle Qrow brought me with him for a reason. Not everyone is under the jurisdiction of the Kingdoms. I saw people yelling at faunus, even beating them, and every time, nobody would help. Even if all the major governments do pass laws against faunus discrimination, there are people who just won't listen."

"Then we just have to keep trying Rubes, sitting around isn't going to make things any better." Yang clapped a hand on her sister's shoulder. "You should know that better than anybody here."

Ruby touched the compact form of Crescent Rose that now lay at her feet. "Thanks Yang… but I mean, sometimes stuff just doesn't work out, even when I try my best. I should know that."

And it was true. Despite her best efforts to avoid doing so, Ruby had been left with no choice but to end the life of Cinder Fall that fateful day two years ago. It was the first person that she had ever killed; she hoped that it would also be her last.

The memory of that day was still ingrained in the minds of many of their closest friends; and though by some miracle none of them had been lost, the same did not hold true for many others who had participated in the battle.

"Would you just listen to yourself?"

Weiss, who had refrained from participating in the conversation until this point, spoke in a voice filled with annoyance.

"Ruby Rose, you're a hero. I don't care what anybody else tells you understand?"

Stunned silvers looked up at Weiss.

"B-But I-"

"But nothing, what other choice did you have besides killing her Ruby? And if it's progress with the faunus that you're worried about..." Weiss grabbed one of the folders on the table before stuffing a sheet of paper into the woman's face.

"Here."

"Weiss what-?"

"The reports for job applications over the past month of the SDC." There were various graphs that depicted exactly what Weiss said they did. They showed a significant increase in both the number of faunus workers and faunus managers. "The numbers are there Ruby, things don't happen in a day. Miracles aren't worked just because you killed Cinder."

"You don't understand Weiss..."

"And just what don't I understand Ruby? I understand more than anyone in case you've forgotten what my family has done."

Ruby's eyes were directed at her own feet. "I just… can't do it Weiss. Not when people are hurting like this. Nobody ever told me that being a hero was so hard."

"Then why do you think we're even trying!" The woman was standing up now, practically yelling into the other's face.

"You said it yourself Ruby! Change isn't going to happen in a day! We have to work at it, day after day, month after month, and year after year!"

The words were familiar to Ruby's ears. They were the ones that she herself had shouted at Adam Taurus as they had ended the man's life. A declaration of resolve… and a promise as well.

"I-I took those words as my own Ruby, so you're not allowed to give up on them now!" A slight pink made itself known on Weiss' face. As crude as it was, the world of dust trading was the SDC's stomping ground, and though Weiss had made attempts to avoid doing so, some corporations seemed to not understand the reasoning behind fair trade laws.

Forget honestly expressing herself to someone, Weiss had been busy doing the exact opposite nearly every day for the past two years.

And so when Ruby's expression went from angry, to blank, to laughing, Weiss was understandably flustered at her honest attempt being made fun of.

"Stop laughing!" She raged.

"S-Sorry sorry!" Ruby tried to fend off the hands that were now coming to hit her head. "It's just that… two years ago, I was the one who needed to say those words to you Weiss. I really needed to get that off of my chest and, hearing you say that to me now…"

Looping her arms around Weiss' neck, Ruby gave her partner a hug. "I really needed to hear that too. That the things I did weren't completely useless."

"You… absolute dolt. I know that better than anybody too. I was the first one to experience how stubborn you are after all."

"Heh, thanks then, best teammate."

Giving a lazy smile, Yang gathered both of them in her arms, much to the protest of the two shorter women. Ignoring the splutters of indignation from both ends, Yang only hugged harder.

"Alright, now that all the doom and glooms away, I say we celebrate!"

"What?" Two equally confused voices came out. Their emotionally charged moment had the two struggling to keep up.

"Oh brother…" Blake let her head fall back onto the couch, seemingly already aware of what Yang was implying.

"I never got to celebrate my little sister's big 21!"

Realization dawned in blue and silver as they were both released from the bone-crushing hug.

"Yang Xiao-Long, we are not getting drunk on our first night back!"

"Ah, lighten up princess, I already bought a bottle on the way here!" Yang produced a bottle of cheap red wine from a small bag. When she had time to actually grab that, only Blake knew.

"And besides, I know you definitely have some good stuff somewhere in here."

Weiss glared at Yang, determined to go against the blonde… until she felt a tug on her sleeve from behind. It was a mistake that Weiss would regret.

"Hey uh, Weiss… I don't think that Yang's idea is that bad."

"What?!"

Ruby cringed slightly at the tone. "What I _mean_ is, Yang's going to take me out to celebrate this either way, so we may as well do it here right? Better in your apartment then at some random bar."

The doe-eyed look that Ruby gave Weiss was a death sentence to the CEO's resolve. Then again, the crimson haired huntress did have a point. Ruby, alone and vulnerable at some dirty bar in downtown Atlas. Inebriated by alcohol and surrounded by less than reputable men, the woman's figure doubtlessly attracting the gazes of many.

Weiss could see it now. A deceitful worm coming up to Ruby and luring the girl away while Yang wasn't watching and then… having his way with her!

"... Give me five minutes." Weiss stalked off towards one of the rooms at the end of the hallway of her apartment, digging around for a bit before returning with a drink whose bottle itself looked more expensive than the entire drink that Yang had offered up.

"If we're doing this, we're going to do it right. Not on some cheap swill." Producing four wine glasses, Weiss poured a sizable amount into each one. Each member of team RWBY took a glass, with the two sisters having an excited look on their faces, and Blake seemingly resigned to what was going to happen.

"To Ruby's twenty first birthday…" Weiss raised her glass hesitantly. A resounding clang of glass had everyone taking a sip of the drink.

Feeling a warmth well up in her chest, Weiss spoke again. "Sorry, forgot to mention, take small sips. It's 140 proof alcohol." She raised the bottle and indicated the number.

Both women across from her stiffened before having their eyes trail next to Weiss. The latter was horrified at what she saw when she turned.

The wine in Ruby's glass was completely gone, the glass itself tilted almost vertically.

Fuck.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8:

Qrow counted himself among the lucky in this world. Sure, he woke up most mornings with a hangover that seemed to last forever; probably because the man never stopped drinking in the first place. Nevertheless, at least he never had to deal with any of the angsty drama garbage that others had dealt with.

"Professor Branwen!"

Ah yes, running on fifty-something years and still single. The single greatest achievement of his life, and something he always held over his friend's heads.

"Professor Branwen!"

Now if only the yelling would stop and he could get over the hangover that he woke up with _this_ particular morning, everything would be perfect…

"Qrow!"

Ah fuck.

Lifting the textbook that he had draped over his eyes as a makeshift blindfold, Qrow was greeted with the sight of his lifelong friend, Taiyang Xiao-Long.

"What is it Tai?" Though his tone was no different from the same flat tone he used to address everyone, the questioning look that he shot his friend was certainly more than what he gave everybody else.

Of course, the folded arms and stern expression on the blonde's face definitely helped with being more serious. "You got a minute?" It was a question, but it was spoken like a demand.

"Sure." Easing himself out of the chair he had propped up against the wall, Qrow made his way towards the door, speaking to his class if only to seem like a professor. "Don't kill each other kids, and we should be fine."

A couple moments later, and Qrow was standing face-to-face with his friend who looked less than happy to say the least.

"So, what's up Tai? Yang mail you a bunch of photos that smell really heavily of alcohol again?"

"No! Well yes… but that's not the point!" Before Qrow could respond with the obvious question, Taiyang had already continued. "When were you planning on telling me that my younger daughter was back?"

Qrow blinked. Well that certainly wasn't what he had been expecting.

"So you mean you're not here about your coffee mug?"

"What?"

"Nevermind, you'll find out later." Waving away the topic, Qrow jumped on what his friend would obviously rather talk about. "Anyways, I didn't even know that the little squirt was back. Where is she?"

"Atlas, with Yang and her team." Taiyang offered up his scroll which displayed a hastily taken photo of Team RWBY, dated just yesterday.

Qrow let out a low whistle. "Let me to correct, squirt isn't so little anymore." He took note of the fact that Ruby was nearly the same height as Yang. "Anyways, they say anything else?"

"Nothing else, but that's not the point Qrow. Didn't you say that you were in contact with Ruby?"

"Yeah, I told her she could contact me anytime she needed to. Apparently, she never did." Qrow shrugged; the picture made it clear enough that Ruby had made it through the years just fine.

"Then why did you say you were in contact?!"

"Would you have ever shut up if I didn't Tai? Let's face it, your little girl didn't want to be found, she didn't want everybody fawning over her anymore. All I did was help her with not being stalked around by the people she loved."

As harsh as it sounded, it was mostly true. Taiyang had spared no effort in trying to find his daughter, heading out every weekend and day off that he had to search at least what he could. Nobody could say that Taiyang Xiao-Long didn't love his daughters to pieces.

Giving a sigh, the blonde hunter stowed his scroll in his pocket. "Fine, I admit that I would've kept on going even if it ran me into the ground. Still, I'm taking the bottle that you hid under the floorboards in your classroom."

"Hey!" Now that threw the old crow for a loop. He'd hidden that bottle of whiskey there months ago!

"I'm the one who should be saying 'hey' Qrow. Now what were you saying about my coffee mug?"

Suddenly, Qrow didn't find the topic of his precious hidden alcohol that important anymore. "I'll tell you later. See ya after classes Tai."

"Qrow!"

-Break-

Time froze.

Or at least it felt like it to Weiss as she watched the last drops of the clear liquid in Ruby's wine glass slide into the woman's mouth. Not a few moments later, Ruby lowered the glass in her hands to the table, her bangs covering her eyes.

"Hey, uh… Rubes, you okay?" Yang set her own glass down and reached over the table towards her sister. Almost immediately, Ruby grabbed her sister's arm and yanked on it, pulling it close to her own chest.

"Yaaaaaaanggg, I missed you soooo much!" And the blonde would've appreciated her sister's affection, really, had it not been for the fact that she was pitched forward by the force of the pull. Being on the other side of a small but no doubt expensive coffee table, Yang was sure that the force of her impact would shatter the thing, spilling the expensive drink on top of it all over the floor.

Thankfully, Blake Belladonna was a thing. With reflexes born of years of active combat that only huntsmen and huntresses would acquire, the faunus quickly wrapped her arms around her partner's waist, holding her steadfast.

"R-Ruby, you should let go of your sister before she crashes into the table." Weiss quickly tried to remedy the situation from her end, trying to get Ruby's hands away from her sister's arm.

"But Weiss…" Misty silver eyes turned to look at the CEO, resulting in a stare that resembled a small animal. Weiss' love for small animals had not diminished over the years.

Still, the frantic looks sent by the other two members of her team reminded her of their precarious position.

"Just for a second Ruby. Just go around the table and then you can hug Yang alright? You don't even have to settle for just her arm." The statement sounded stupid, even to Weiss, but it apparently did the trick as Ruby reluctantly released Yang's arm.

Seeing Blake pull Yang back over the table, Weiss closed her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. Because of this, she did not see the contemplative look on Ruby's face as she stood there. It was only moments later, when the white-themed woman was suddenly pushed into the couch, that she opened her eyes.

"Ruby?!" The screech was one of panic and nervousness. She was too close…! Much too close! Ruby's arms were wrapped in a stranglehold around her partner's waist, the woman's face buried in Weiss' midsection.

"I missed you too Weiss!" The large grin on Ruby's face made it clear that she was not letting go anytime soon, something that was decidedly unhealthy for her victim's heart. The shade of red on Weiss' face was only matched by the healthy flush on Ruby's own, though the two were for completely different reasons.

Looking to her teammates for help, Weiss was let down when she saw the black and yellow pair with a pair of smirks on their face. Given the amount of time that the other three members of team RWBY has spent with one another over the past two years, it would've been strange if the other two had not noticed Weiss' almost abnormal fixation with their leader.

When Ruby's friends has started their search for her, Weiss had searched just as hard as anybody else given her position… at least, that was what it looked like on the surface. It was only when Yang had walked in on Weiss looking through documents halfway through the night that they had discovered the then heiress' sleepless nights.

From then on, it had been a struggle for the other two members of team RWBY to get their frosty princess to admit her affections for their leader. In fact, they hadn't managed to get anything better than a flustered blush out of the woman since they had first teased her about it.

"I love you Weeiiiiss!"

And now, Ruby had managed to do more in the span of ten seconds then Blake and Yang had managed in hours. "Didja know that you smell really nice?"

"W-W-What?" Understandably, the object of Ruby's affections was flustered. "Ruby, enough! Let go of me!"

In response to Weiss' pushing, a contemplative look once again appeared on Ruby's face before dissipating into the grin that had been there before.

"Don't wanna!" She practically sang, much to the dismay of Weiss.

"C'mon Weiss. If Ruby can hug me, why can't she hug you too?" As much as the woman disliked cussing, Weiss felt that this was an appropriate moment to do so.

"Take that shit-eating grin off your face Xiao-Long." She said before giving a squeak of surprise. Ruby had begun inching her way up the CEO's body, slowly making her way towards the woman's face.. Not for the first time, and certainly not for the last, Weiss wondered why Ruby was an affectionate drunk.

"Aw princess, you're basically _frozen_ in place. Blakey and I can leave you two alone if you want." As was to be expected, Weiss' outrage only fueled Yang's teasing even more. The blonde was practically in tears of laughter at this point.

"Some _help_ would be appreciated right now if you didn't mind!"

"I don't know Weiss, Ruby seems real happy where she is right now. I'm getting kinda tired to ya' know? After spending all day driving around for you and Ruby, I think it's time for Blakey and I to head to bed."

Though the explanation was not altogether ridiculous, the smile on Yang's face as she dragged Blake off the couch, was.

"Blake?" In desperation, Weiss reached out towards her other teammate, her situation only growing more dire as Ruby's eyes now resembled those of a predator's.

"Sorry Weiss, but Shakespeare calls tonight." The faintly amused smile on her face did little to help Blake's credibility.

Weiss could only sputter incoherently; both at the actions of Yang and Blake, and at Ruby's next action.

Very quickly, the huntress had stuffed her face into the open collar of Weiss' blouse, and blown a very loud and wet raspberry. Ruby's own uncontrolled laughter as she collapsed backwards into the couch could only be compared to the similar sound that Weiss heard from the other room, Yang's own raucous laughter, accompanied by the crashing of what had to be several chairs against the ground.

On one hand, Weiss was glad that Ruby had finally relinquished her hold on her. On the other hand, she felt a vague disappointment at the loss of the weight on her chest. It was preposterous that Ruby could make her feel like this, and yet she did.

The pounding of her heart in her chest, the heat of the flush on her face, and her own laboured breaths were evidence enough of her feelings.

But how could Weiss ever confess them to the wonderfully sweet, stupid, endearing, naive, dolt that now laid on the couch giggling to herself. After how they had parted, Weiss believed that she was the last one to have the right to hold her partner close. All she wanted was for Ruby to be happy, and it was woefully obvious that it wouldn't happen if Ruby stayed with Weiss.

Perhaps the most woefully damning part of it was that Weiss knew that no matter how she viewed it, no matter how much she blamed herself, her leader would always stand there with the smile that she always had. Ruby would always forgive Weiss, no matter how much the woman refused to forgive _herself_.

"Weiss, come hug me." Unfortunately for Weiss, it seemed as if Ruby had plans to make it as difficult as possible for the CEO to keep their relationship platonic. The woman had her arms spread open, an inviting smile on her face.

"Ruby, I can't."

"Why not?"

"B-Because you dolt…" Weiss paused for a moment. Without admitting to her guilty conscience, there really was no logical reason.

"Just because I don't want to." So she settled for an illogical one.

"Then can you bring me to bed?"

Weiss choked on the breath she had been taking.

"W-What are you saying?"

"Yang always did it when I was a kid…"

Weiss felt her heartbeat that had shot up slowly come back down. Still, it did little to appease her temper. "Well I'm not Yang! And you're not a kid anymore!"

"But Yang isn't here… please Weiss?" Weiss damned whatever god had seen it fit to give a grown woman the ability to seem as helpless as a kicked puppy at the drop of a dime. Silver eyes shone with unshed tears as Ruby bit her bottom lip.

Sighing heavily, Weiss tucked and arm under Ruby's shoulders before helping the girl up into a sitting position… in which the latter quickly fell onto her back in a heap.

"...Ruby." Weiss could feel her scar throbbing as her partner tested her patience.

"Carry me!"

Weiss briefly wondered simply bringing the bed to Ruby instead of the other way around. It would have certainly been healthier for her sanity. The latter quickly made that decision invalid by hooking her arms around Weiss' neck.

"Let's gooo!"

Greatly lamenting their proximity, Weiss put an ar under Ruby's neck and knees before hoisting her up. Holding Ruby's body was only promoting the not entirely wholesome images that Weiss had been nursing in her mind. Fortunately, her thoughts were broken by the sound of a giggle.

"What is it Ruby?" The tone that she used was rather testy; embarrassed, but angry at the same time.

"Oh nothing… just that the princess is doing the princess carry!"

"Ruby, I'm going to drop you."

"I'm sorry!" Whereas she had been able to smirk for a brief moment, Weiss instantly regretted her decision as Ruby's grip on her neck tightened.

"Just don't move around so much you dunce." Huffing, Weiss pushed open the door to one of the guest rooms with her shoulder, twisting her wrist in order to turn the knob.

Walking into the room, it quickly became even more apparent that Weiss had more money than she knew what to do with. A large king sized bed, visible by the light of the hallway, dominated the room, even given the fact that nobody ever really stayed with Weiss in the apartment anyways. The large chandelier on the ceiling glimmered in the moonlight, it's ornaments giving a off a light tinkling sound as Weiss closed the door.

"We're here Ruby, now please let go of my head before I asphyxiate." Laying the huntress down on the bed, Weiss decided that anything along the lines of a shower or teeth brushing could wait until tomorrow.

Ruby's eyebrows furrowed in brief thought.

"No!"

"What?"

"Stay with me Weiss!"

And with a pull, Ruby pulled the other woman down with her onto the bed. Try as she might, Weiss was helpless to forcibly break Ruby's grip; she had been sitting in an office for the past two years. Ruby had been traveling, surviving, fighting, and constantly on the move. If you were to compare their physiques, there really was no contest.

"Ruby, let go!"

"Nope!" Instead of complying, Ruby only dug her face into Weiss' hair, taking in the CEO's scent and the feeling of her hair.

"I'm not kidding Ruby, let go of me right-" Weiss was interrupted by the faint sounds of snoring from behind her. It seemed that her lecture was destined to fall on deaf ears as she felt soft breaths caressing her neck. The arms that held her though, did not loosen in the slightest.

"You're… impossible…" Obviously, escaping would be an exercise in futility. Weiss could only hope that no one else walked into this room before the next morning.

A/N

Apologies for the late chapter.

Thus ends the portion of this story that depicts finding Ruby and bringing her back. The following chapters will depict the slow development of relationships as well as the introduction of a plot that is not pure fluff. Please excuse any slowdown in the plot that you may see, as much of it will be setup.

Once again, thank you all for reading.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Ruby decided that she would never listen to her sister again when it came to celebrating. Her throat felt like someone had run sandpaper over it, the unpleasant sensation only made worse by her mouth that was dry as a desert. Despite this, the red-haired woman tried her best to fall back asleep to escape her misery, unfortunately, the sun seemed to determine to see to it that she failed.

Resigned to the fact that the world just hated her this morning, Ruby attempted to flip herself over to get out of the bed that she was currently occupying. Her sleep addled mind never registering the sensation of another pair of legs wrapped around her own until the woman visually confirmed it herself.

It took all of Ruby's willpower to hold her scream in as she found none other than her partner of six years in bed beside her. Doing a panicked once over, Ruby was relieved to find that both Weiss and herself had all of their clothes on. Giving a silent sigh as a weight seemed to lift itself off her shoulders, Ruby set to work untangling herself from Weiss.

Setting about getting ready for the day, Ruby sighed at the comfort of having a warm wash towel pressed over her face. Brushing her teeth helped her in ridding herself of the last of the taste of alcohol in her mouth.

Having spent the past two years in near isolation however, Ruby found it to be quite a task to run the fancy shower in the guest bathroom. After fiddling with it for a few minutes, Ruby found the reward to be well worth her effort as the hot water ran over her body, soothing the small aches and pains that had come from running around the mountains for the past few days.

After drying herself off and throwing on a fluffy bathrobe that Ruby was convinced had to be one of the best usages of Weiss' wealth that she had seen yet, the woman made her way to the kitchen. She finally stopped in front of a machine that she had sorely missed the past two years.

"Oh coffee… how I've missed you." It wasn't as if Ruby had particularly enjoyed the drink itself, after all, pouring in the amount of cream and sugar that she had didn't particularly keep the taste of the original roast very well. Rather, it was the caffeine provided by the beverage that Ruby had so sorely missed.

Filling the machine with water and pouring some undoubtedly ridiculously overpriced beans into a filter, Ruby sat cradling her head as small pangs of pain assaulted her.

"C'mon… can't this thing go any faster?"

"I suppose I can't be surprised that you would want everything to go faster." A semi-amused voice came from behind her.

There stood Weiss in all the glory that she could muster having just woken up. Then again, the CEO would look good in practically any situation.

"Hey, I can be patient!" Ruby replied without thinking about how loud she was being. Regret came moment later as her own voice made it to her ears. "Oww… Weiss make it stooooppp."

Rolling her eyes at her partner's exaggerated motions, Weiss merely sat Ruby down at the table in the kitchen before retrieving several mugs from one of the cabinets. Pouring the now finished coffee into two of the cups, one for herself, and one for Ruby.

"Here, drink this. It'll make your headache better." Setting down a cup of coffee in front of the girl, Weiss found that she hadn't even thought about how she had made the coffee: with a cream and five sugars.

"Thanks, Weiss…" With a small grumble, Ruby picked up the cup and took a long drink, a small sigh of bliss coming as she felt the pain in her skull dull a bit. With some degree of relief, Ruby turned her attention to Weiss who was now sitting down across from her with another cup of coffee.

"So, what happened last night? All I remember is Yang insisting that we drink and then… it's all a blur from there." Ruby's eyebrows furrowed while she struggled to call up the memories of last night.

"Don't bother sis, you won't remember anything if you were as hammered as I think you were." Appearing from nowhere, Yang hooked an arm around Ruby's neck as she sat down at the table. "Morning by the way."

"Ham- you mean I was drunk?"

"You got it sis! And… Weiss was the one to put you to bed."

Weiss was thankful that she had not been taking a sip of her coffee at the time, as it would have ended up all over her clothes and the table as she sputtered. Instead of the blushing mess that Ruby would have become two years ago however, the woman merely gave a grin to Weiss as she spoke.

"Thanks, Weiss. You're really the best partner I could have!" Calming herself quickly, Weiss shifted her gaze away before responding.

"It wasn't easy with how grabby you are you dolt…"

"Oh I can imagine." Yang waggled her eyebrows suggestively at the CEO. Thankfully, Blake chose this moment to walk into the kitchen.

"Alright, enough teasing Weiss. I thought that we were expecting Winter to come by today." As always, the feline faunus was the rational one of the group. She always somehow managed to bring the other three rather excitable members of Team RWBY back down to earth.

Eyes widening, Ruby was the first to speak. "Right! How should we tell your sister about what we found Weiss?"

"And pray tell, what did you find?" Blake's eyes gleamed with interest. "I was under the impression that all you found was Ruby."

It was a testament to the bond that was shared between the four women that the red and white pair of Team RWBY did not hesitate for even a moment before responding.

"Originally, that was my goal. It shouldn't come as a surprise though, that the dunce was already wrapped up in someone else's trouble once I found her." Weiss' less than flattering description of events had Ruby sticking her tongue out at the CEO. Rolling her eyes at the childish gesture, Weiss simply continued with her story.

"See, what originally had me running out there was a report that Winter had brought me concerning a sighting of Ruby. The catch was that it came with news of a large Grimm attack in an area where they had no business being."

"Yeah, so we stayed the night at one of the nearby towns and headed out to the site of the attack the next day."

"One of the townspeople also handed me a small black box that he said was found near the area where the attacks began. It's sitting in my room at the moment." Blake nodded, digesting the information easily and prompting the pair to go on.

"Anyways, the next day Weiss and I searched around and eventually we found something just like the box, except like a hundred times bigger! We figured that the boxes must have been what was attracting Grimm."

"An interesting story to say the least"

The four women jumped in their seats when the foreign voice sounded.

"Winter!" Weiss was the first to regain control of her vocal functions.

And indeed, Winter Schnee was standing in the small doorway that led to the kitchen, looking as immaculate as ever in her typical military garb.

Ruby was the next to ask a question that was on all of their minds. "Since when were you here?"

"Long enough to hear the important bits of the story." The reply was curt, though that was to be expected from the elder Schnee sibling. "Now, do you have any exact coordinates for this large black box? If it's function is as you've stated, then it is of utmost importance that we retrieve it as soon as possible."

Quick and to business, Winter's actions were nothing unexpected. After all, this was the woman who had asked several of her own soldiers to take some of their fellows to the infirmary. Injuries that they had suffered because of the specialist's own harsh training method.

"We couldn't get exact coordinates, but we sure can give you a good estimate." Ruby handed over her scroll. On the screen was a map of Atlas and its surrounding areas. A small red dot marked a spot that the kingdom, with only a few villages close by.

"I will arrange for several ships to arrive at the area in a few days, we should be able to have it back in Atlas for examination within a week." Winter nodded as she handed the scroll back to its owner. It seemed however, that she was not done yet.

"Weiss." Her sister turned to face her. "If I recall correctly, today is the day that you have an appointment scheduled with the young scion of the Cintas Family."

Weiss' expression only grew darker as her sister continued to speak. "Another one of father's many attempts to connect the Schnee name to another corporation."

"Wait what?!" Despite her apparent maturation in the social department, it seemed as if Ruby still had a penchant for being able to chime in at the worst times.

The sisters stared at one another for a moment before Weiss finally relented and began to speak. "In exchange for a smooth transition of power in the SDC, my father voluntarily allowed me to take over his position in exchange for a favor. As you have undoubtedly guessed, this favor involves meeting with any frivolous heir that he so chooses." The scowl adorning Weiss' face only grew deeper as she continued.

"Initially it seemed like a good enough deal. I would simply spend a bit of my time each month humoring my father. As of late however, it has become rather troublesome."

"Father has insisted that Weiss expedite her search for a potential partner. He believes that a marriage will secure the Schnee name for the next generation." Winter supplied an explanation. "I will be going Weiss, there are many things that I must do before I can send out a group to retrieve that object." And with that and a goodbye to the other three women in the room, Winter was gone.

Of course, there was no way that Weiss would be able to avoid the questions that she was about to be subjected to.

"Why didn't you tell me about this sooner Weiss?" Ruby looked as if she had half a mind to start shaking Weiss were the white-haired woman sat.

"Well I apologize if I was too busy looking for my partner who's been gone for the past two years." Weiss snarled back. She immediately regretted her decision when Ruby leaned back into her seat with a hurt look in her eyes.

"Hey, watch it Princess. Ruby might not be a little kid anymore, but she still has feelings." Yang was halfway out of her seat, with the only thing holding her back being Blake's arm placed in front of her. The three may have grown closer in Ruby's absence, but the younger woman would always be Yang's priority.

Weiss wanted to apologize, she was just about to really, but Yang's outburst had brought back some not so fond memories Team RWBY's second year, where Weiss and their red-headed leader had not gotten along so well. The then heiress had become more and more occupied with her duties as the successor to the SDC, leaving an ever smaller amount of time to spend with her team. Ruby's enthusiasm and zeal hadn't done any favors for Weiss, who was already running on fumes the majority of those times. It had only been a matter of time until Weiss blew up on her partner.

"Well then, since she isn't such a little kid anymore, she should stop barging into my business like she is one."

A look of disbelief crossed Yang's face before Blake clenched down on her shoulder with her hand. The latter then spoke before anyone else could.

"We're going Weiss. Yang and I will take Ruby out and we'll be back tonight. Hopefully, you'll have gotten over whatever's bothering you by then." The faunus' eyes stared straight into Weiss' own. The look in them let the latter know that Blake wasn't pleased. Even then however, it was a sort of restrained disappointment that was expressed.

Realizing that Blake was giving her the only way out of this situation that wouldn't result in a full blown shouting match, Weiss agreed with her fists clenched. "Fine." She managed to grind out.

Giving a short sigh, Blake lead the two sisters in a somewhat awkward path out of the apartment.

"Weiss."

Sharp blue eyes turned to look at Ruby.

"Sorry…"

The apology left the CEO speechless as the door to her apartment closed in an echo that spread through the empty rooms. Why on Remnant was _Ruby_ the one apologizing? It made no sense.

The cheerful ringing sound of Weiss' scroll notifying her of her appointment in the afternoon seemed like some kind of twisted jab at the woman's mood. Unfortunately, it didn't seem like the time that Blake had afforded her would result in any kind of positive change in her mood.


End file.
